Cute Kitty

Check out my newest little kitty in Happy Pets. Isn't she adorable? I spend way too much time with these guys, but I just can't help it. I mean, you never know what you are going to get when you breed them. And they are soooo cute!

Oh, and if you're on facebook, come find me. We could be friends :)

A Spare Pair

I mentioned a few posts ago that I broke my spare pair of eyeglasses. Not really a big deal, but something I would like to take care of. Cheaply, because let's face it, I am cheap.

So I was thinking cheap, and eyeglasses, and Zenni optical popped into mind. A friend of mine recently bought a couple of pairs of glasses from them, and said she was shocked at the quality of glasses she received. Shocked in a good way, not a bad way.

I am sure I would be thinking the same thing she was; at only $7 a pair, how nice could they be? Sure, they look great in all the pictures, but what about when they actually arrive on your doorstep?

Well, according to my friend, they are great. She has had them for a little while now, and they are holding up just fine. She actually said that she doesn't see a difference between them and an old pair she paid a couple of hundred dollars for. Now, my friends opinions mean a lot, but I also did a little research of my own. I found this article, and this guy seems to speak from experience, too. He wrote about the good and the bad, and it seems, at least to me, that the good definitely outweighs the bad.

I think I might give them a try. I mean, it's only for my spare pair, unless I like them better than the ones I wear now, then they will become my everyday glasses. And if I really like the quality, I might have to buy a bunch of pairs, like one for every day of the week. I pay the same shipping for one pair or twenty, so I may as well get my moneys worth.

Right?

Stupid People

Yesterday we took the kids to the park. I wasn't feeling the best, but the kids have been working so hard during the move; they needed some play time. They had their frisbee, bubbles, and rockets, so they were good to go.

As Junior and I were sitting there, watching them play, we notice a black jeep in the parking lot. On top of it were two teen aged girls, holding on to the luggage rack, as the car sped around the parking lot. The jeep was doing at least 40 miles per hour, and the girls were barely hanging on as he took the turns.

What is the matter with people?

So Junior calls the police, and they say they can't send anyone out because Junior doesn't know the exact address of the park. Really? I was shocked. Junior told them that when one of the girls falls off and spills her brains on the pavement, he'll call back and maybe then they can figure out where we are calling from.

And he hung up.

Ten minutes later two police cars come into the park. Junior walks over and tells them what was going on, and as he is talking to the cops, the jeep ( and the green car the girls were in) took off out of the park. The cop told Junior that he would pull them over outside the complex and give them a "talking to".

We left not too long after that, and sure enough, both cars were pulled over, and let me tell you, those two girls were not happy. But, we may have saved their lives.

I don't ever remember doing something so reckless when I was young, and I hope my kids have more sense than to do something like that when they are old enough to drive, or be driven around by their friends.

I Broke My Glasses

It feels so good to be completely unpacked and settled in the new place. Brandi has adjusted to her new school, and Ryan and Kasi are enjoying their own space.

And I am enjoying my new tub.

I was impressed that all of my elephants made it through the move. There was no breakage this time, which makes me happy. The only thing that did get broken was my spare pair of glasses. I had them in a box with all the little stuff that was in the drawers of my hutch, and somehow that box got squished. This isn't really a big deal; it was just nice knowing I had a spare pair of eye glasses. Now I have to be really careful with the ones I wear every day until I can afford to get another pair.

I also have to have the kids eyes checked. They can each get a check up and free glasses once a year through medicaid. Ryan is the only one who has taken advantage of this, and that was a few years ago. In fact, the girls hardly ever use their medicaid. Ryan is my medically challenged kid, with his ADHD and all.

Anyway, I am off to enjoy this beautiful day by taking a nap. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I took some medication this morning, so I think a nap is needed. You all know how well I do on medication...

The Long Awaited Pictures

I promised pictures of the new place, and here they are. I finally finished unpacking this morning, YAY!

This is a shot of the living room from my desk. The ceiling is sloped, which makes the room look bigger.

This is a shot from the entertainment center, looking towards my desk.

This is a shot of the dining area, which is part of the kitchen.

This is a shot of the kitchen from the living room.

This is a shot of the kitchen, obviously, from the back hallway, which is also the laundry room.

A shot of the back hallway, aka the laundry room. It also had room for our freezer, which means it finally came out of Ryan's bedroom!

Here's the kids bathroom...I love the shower curtain the girls picked out!
And now for the best thing in the entire house...my bathtub!

Losing Weight

I am not sure if I have mentioned it on this blog or not, but in the past eight months or so, I have lost 42 pounds. I credit stress, because I wasn't doing anything intentional to lose the weight. This is not a healthy way to lose weight, and I do not recommend it.

In the past few weeks, because of the move and unpacking, we have eaten out a lot. Because of this, I have gained back four pounds. Now, four pounds may not seem like a lot, but to me it's huge because I really want to keep this weight off, and find a way to lose some more. A lot more, actually. Only now I want to put a little effort into it, and do it the right way.

I really want to try this new program I just heard about called Shapely Secrets. Basically, you follow a seven minute program and use the seven secrets to being thin, and in no time at all you can have the body you dream of. Now, I am not looking to be a size two. Heck, I am not even looking to be a size eight. I will be happy to get back to a size ten, which is where I was before I had Ryan fourteen years ago.

The seven minute workout uses different muscles working against each other, so you are actually working several different muscles with each exercise. Since I am not a big fan of exercise, which is evident in the fact that I need to lose a bunch of weight, doing exercises that work quickly and effectively is perfect for me. I know I can find seven minutes each day, even if it means getting up seven minutes earlier in the morning.

Or maybe I'll just spend seven minutes less online every day. I really do like my sleep.

My Bedroom

Okay, so I promised pictures, so this is a start. My bedroom. As you can see, I have much more room, because in the apartment, I didn't even have a bedroom. For now, my bed is sitting on the floor, because the rails are metal, and I am afraid they will scratch the floor. I wish you could see the "fake" wood floors. They are all through the house. I am standing in the doorway, and to the right is the bathroom, which has the most amazing tub. But, those pictures will have to wait, because this is the only room made up enough for showing. Notice Princess (the hamster) is in my room, because the girls room is still a mess of boxes that need to be unpacked. I will try and get some more pictures up tomorrow, but no promises. I am having guests over tomorrow night, and I want things perfect, which means more unpacking and organizing.

Wish me luck!

Los Angeles SEO Help Me, Please!

I can tell that the traffic to this blog has slacked off since I have not been dropping ecards. My alexa rating is up almost 10,000 points, at almost 69,000. I really do need to get back to it, especially since I am almost completely unpacked, and ready to get back to blogging. I miss visiting every one's blogs every day. I really do.

I hate that the comments on this blog are down, too. A lot. In fact, I have way too many posts that have no comments at all. I really need the help of a Los Angeles Seo company to get back on track. I could take advantage of their Pay Per Click management services, as well as putting in a little more effort myself. I saw this blog on my son's new laptop, and the color is horrible. To me, on this computer, the sides are a pretty, light purple. On his, they are a yucky, pale gray. I think I need to use Los Angeles Web Design to give this blog an overhaul. Maybe simplify things, if that's possible. I really want a three column, but hated the way it looked here when I did it. I believe the services of a professional is in order to get this exactly how I want them.

Maybe I should start a list...

Random...

I was deleting pictures off my camera, and found this one. I think I took it a couple of weekends ago, when I babysat for my sister. Tell me Carson is not the cutest little boy in the entire world! I will tell you, though, that a couple of hours of babysitting sure does cure me of wanting another baby. I am so glad those "hands on" days are over!

Ouch!

Today while running errands, Junior and I met up with a guy who used to work with him. We became friendly with him because he has a son Ryan's age, but we haven't seen him in quite a while. He started telling us about how his wife had fallen in a local fast food restaurant over the weekend, and dislocated her knee. He asked if we had ever hired a lawyer before, because they were thinking about suing the restaurant.

Thankfully, Junior and I have never needed a lawyer. We didn't know what to tell him, except to get online and see who he could find locally. I knew an Orlando Auto Accident Lawyer couldn't help him, because she wasn't hit by a car. Apparently, she slipped on a wet floor coming out of the restroom. I would think that an Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer might be able to help them, if they lived in Florida. I guess that is what they should look for up here.

I know another friend of Junior's used a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer when his daughter died, but I think the case was dismissed. Although the doctor was neglectful, he didn't cause her death, so they had no case. I still think it was extremely unfair, but there was nothing else they could do. I am glad Junior and I have never been through something like that.

I hope to keep it that way, too.

I Want One, Too

Ryan has a new toy, and I am jealous. Right around his birthday last November, he decided he wanted a laptop. Now, at 14, I was a little iffy, but he has shown that he can be very responsible with his electronics (and he has a lot) so I told him that if he saved all his birthday money, when we got our tax refund I would match what he saved and buy him a laptop.

Boy, did I underestimate the price of those things. I had to add a little more money, and also buy a wireless router. But, he loves it, and he shares. He let me borrow it to do some posts in bed while waiting for Brandi to fall asleep tonight.

He's such a good boy!

And next year...I am getting one for myself!

Me? See A Dentist? Maybe.

Look at those teeth!

No, they are not actually rotting out of her mouth. I took this picture at the circus last week after she finished her snow cone. She is in need of a trip to the dentist, though. It's been a while since all the kids have had check ups, and I know that is my fault. I am letting my fear affect their teeth, and that is not right. I know this, yet I still put off their checkups. I am definitely in the running for mom of the year now, right?

I am actually the one in need of some serious dental work. I have a wisdom tooth that flairs up every few months, causing me all kinds of pain. Most of the tooth is missing, so I know they would have to surgically remove what is left, and that scares me to death. I remember when my mom had hers removed, and it was awful. But, I know that having it done will be worth it. I just can not bring myself to make the appointment, because none of the dentists around here offer sedation.

And trust me when I say I will need to be sedated.

I wish I could fly off to see a San Diego Sedation Dentist, because "they strive to offer maximum comfort and anxiety-free patient care and, therefore, offer oral sedation to patients who might otherwise avoid dental treatment". I am most definitely a patient who is avoiding dental treatment. These dentists, Leslie Strommer, DDS, and Scott Strommer, DDS, also specialize in cosmetic dentistry, and I would be lying if I said I was happy with my smile. Maybe while they have me all sedated they could whiten my teeth and maybe straighten them a little bit. They also have several different financing options, so I think I could fit this into my monthly budget.

Do you think 38 is too old to get braces?

A Question For Those Who Etsy...

I ordered a really cute purple and glass elephant the other night off of etsy. I wrote about it here. I paid $3.50 for it, and it had free shipping. Now, let me say right now that I actually look for free shipping when deciding to buy something, because some people have pretty hefty shipping charges. I also don't buy from overseas for that reason. I am cheap, and I know it.

So last night I get a message through etsy from the seller, saying that she is going to mail it today, and depending on the shipping cost, might need me to reimburse her.

What?

If you offer free shipping, then shipping is free...right? Am I missing something here? This afternoon I got another message, saying:

Hi again, I just shipped the package and it was $2. If you would be so kind to send an addtl. $1-2 via paypal I would greatly appreciate it. My paypal addr. is ************* if you agree please send whatever you deem fair as a "gift". I would really appreciate it as I do offer free shipping some times due to distance the shipping is greater than expected and after fees' and all I don't really make much on the sale.
Its up to you how you'd like to handle my request.
Enjoy the elephant!

Is this weird to you guys? I know etsy charges a fee for sales and listings, so is this her way of getting around that? Why not just charge shipping in the first place?

Is it wrong that I do not want to send her any money, because it was not part of the original agreement?

What would you do?

If I Had Only Listened To My Mother

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dermajuv Skin Care Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

My mother has awesome skin. I remember from a very young age watching her put cream on her face every night before she went to bed. For years she used the same product. In fact, I think she still uses the same one, only I am sure it is not the same as is was twenty years ago. The brand is the same, but I am pretty sure the ingredients have changed.

As with everything else in life, skin care products change as scientists discover new ingredients that can better help a woman's skin. Right now, the new "it" ingredient is Matrixyl. This can be found in Dermajuv's Original Wrinkle Smoothing Cream. It is supposed to be able to "stimulate the lower layers of the skin to heal themselves, thus accelerating the healing of wounds". I guess wrinkles are considered "wounds", because this stuff is said to help your skin heal itself, thus getting rid of wrinkles.

All I know is that I am getting to that age where wrinkles are going to become more noticeable. I don't necessarily mind, but I don't want to look like I am 70 when I am only 45. I wish I had followed my mother's example and started using some type of face cream years ago. I guess it's just like with everything else my mother told me when I was younger; I didn't believe it at the time, but now wish that I had.

Making Friends

It's been a week since Brandi started at her new school. The first day was rough, but she is loving it now. We stayed in the same district, but what I didn't realize was that we had moved her into a school that is mostly black and Mexican kids. I don't have a problem with this, but she is finding it hard to make friends. A lot of the kids speak Spanish, and Brandi has no idea what they are saying. She also says the black kids kind of hang out with each other.

I can not believe that at eight years old these kids are already divided based on color. I have taught my kids that it is wrong to judge people by the color of their skin. They know that evil comes in all colors, and that it is a person's behavior that speaks to who they are on the inside. Brandi has a huge heart, and wants to be friends with everyone. I wish everyone wanted to be friends with her, too.

Now, don't get me wrong. She has made some friends. In fact, she came home the first day with notes in her book bag from girls in her class claiming that she is now their best friend. I loved that. She also talks to her bff Sarah everyday after school. She misses her so bad. I have got to get them together for a play date, just as soon as I finish unpacking.

If I ever finish unpacking....

Flat As A Pancake

Junior woke up this morning to a flat tire. For the past week or so, he has been continuously putting air in it, so he wasn't surprised to find it flat. We really need to get a new set of tires, but our tax money has been spent, so it is something we will have to save up for. For now, he is going to put an old tire on it, and hope for the best.

It seems only right that as soon as we pay it off something goes wrong. I am thankful that it wasn't something serious that we would have had to have fixed at a San Diego auto repair shop. When we had a Ford F-150 Junior would ignore the check engine light whenever it came on. He claimed that he had a "feel" for the truck, and he knew when something serious was wrong. I believe him, because that truck never broke down. I'm not sure why he got rid of it. It was probably because we needed a vehicle big enough for all of us to ride in.

These days, we are able to avoid the auto shop because Junior and Ryan both know how to fix just about anything that goes wrong. This is a good thing, because it saves us a lot of money. Plus, by Ryan learning how to do the repairs himself, he is investing in his future, because he wants to be a mechanic when he grows up.

I say when he grows up, but these days he is taller than me. Of course, that's not saying much since I am barely five feet tall.

Seems Like Old Times

I love a good Chevy Chase movie, and this has got to be one of my favorites. He plays the ex-husband of Glenda (played by Goldie Hawn) , and he is wrongly accused of robbing a bank. Running from the police, he finds himself hiding in Glenda's garage. She knows he is there, and she is trying to hide him from her attorney husband (played by Charles Grodin).

An attorney herself, she wants to help prove his innocence, and let me tell you, between the dogs and the hired help (kids in trouble that she has defended), she has her hands full. I laugh through the entire movie, every time I see it.

I was only eight years old when it was made, which is hard to believe. But it just goes to show that a good movie is a good movie, no matter how old it is.

I'm Such A Loser

I live in South Carolina. When I moved down here from New York sixteen years ago, some things were really strange to me. For instance, it was the first time I had ever seen someone smoking a cigarette in the grocery store. Talk about a sanitary issue. Thankfully, this is no longer allowed. I also thought it was strange that there were poker machines in almost every convenience store, and you could play them for real money. I remember a couple of times where Junior won some pretty good cash. This too is now illegal.

I have never been a big gambler, and prefer to play cards and games just for fun. But, if you like to gamble with real money, you should check out slot machines rvm. You can find a list of all the top casinos, and see what their big bonus' are. Just remember to play safely, and only gamble with money you can afford to lose, because let's face it; we're not all winners. In fact, I am a big fat loser. There is a casino not too far from here that my brothers-in-law like to go to, and a part of me really wants to check it out one day, but I am afraid I will lose all my money.

I think I will stick to playing canasta with my mom, and leave the slots and poker machines to all of you.

Daddy's Little Helper

We are finally getting settled into the new place. I promise in a few days I will get some pictures up. I just want to get everything unpacked first. It just doesn't feel like "home" until all my elephants are unpacked.

When we looked at this house, it already had a fridge and stove. We requested they be removed so we could use our own, and the manager agreed. Unfortunately, the plugs didn't match up, so we had to replace ours. (we ended up spending way more than I thought moving into this place, but it was sooo worth it!) Brandi jumped right in and asked Junior if she could help, and I just had to get a shot of her removing the old plug from the back of our stove. She also helped screw the new one into place, but I missed that.

Junior loves when the kids want to help him do things, so he rarely tells them no. I love that the kids like doing things with him.

It keeps them out of my hair for a little while! lol!

Using Discount Codes

I think everyone likes to save money. I mean, if given the option, why would you choose to pay full price for something when you can find discount codes online that can save you money? I know that when I have a big purchase to make, I always jump online and see if there are any discount offers or better deals available.

I really should get into the habit of checking for discount codes for everything I buy. For instance, buying sneakers for my family of five can get very expensive. Sure, we can go to a discount merchandise store and get a cheap pair for each of us, but chances are we will be back in a month or two buying new ones, because let's face it, when you buy the cheap stuff, they are usually cheaply made. I bet if I went online and searched for Nike discount codes, I could probably get a really good deal. Sure, it may cost me more than if I went to the discount store, but I am sure that a good pair of sneakers will last at least a season, if not longer.

I guess my point is that if you want to save money, it is easy to do if you know where to look. Using Discount Codes you find on sites like this one just makes sense. You can find discount codes for everything from mp3 players to kitchen appliances. So before you make that next big purchase, find out how much you can save by using discount codes.

The Greatest Show On Earth

What can make a kid smile that big?

Wednesday night we headed to the Greatest Show On Earth. It was awesome! I think my smile was bigger than Brandi's. I used to go see this circus every year at Madison Square Garden when I lived in NY, and the last time I went had to be about 17 years ago. They have changed so much, and yet it still had the same feel. I loved the trampoline performers, which was new, and of course I adored the elephants. It was all I could do not to go down there and hug every single one of them.

Yeah, I know. But if you can't let your inner child out every now and then, what's the point of having one?

Capital Protection Group

For the first time in our married life, Junior and I have our debt under control. It wasn't an easy thing to to, but thankfully we didn't owe too much money, and we were able to use this years tax refund to pay things down. We still have a couple of loans, but they are small and manageable.

It is nice to not get calls from the people we owed money to. They didn't understand that we knew that we owed them, and we had every intention of paying them, just not at that moment. These people aren't interested in anything other than harassing you until you pay up. I know, that is there job, and I get that. But being rude and threatening isn't necessary. We were actually considering letting Capital Protection Group take care of things for us. In fact, if our refund had been smaller, we wouldn't have had a choice. They can stop the collection calls, and help you work to get rid of your debt. In fact, they have a 4 step program designed to get you debt free.

I am hoping from today forward, Junior and I will be a little more responsible with our money, because I like this feeling of being in control of our money.

Another Moving Story ~ The Hamster Edition

You guys remember Princess, right? The hamster that Brandi got for Christmas from my mom?
Saturday was over before we got everything moved, so we made a trip to the house first thing Sunday morning. Princess was still at the apartment, so Brandi checked her out first thing, and gave her food and water. I think I even stuck my hand in there for a second. Then we loaded the trailer up with another load, and headed to the house.

We unloaded, then headed back to the apartment. By this time, Junior's friend Duane was there, loading up some stuff that Junior had given him. I unlocked the front door, left it open, and started loading more stuff onto the trailer. About 20 minutes later, Duane left, so Junior and the kids came inside to help me. Kasi walked into the kitchen, and asked, "why is princess' cage open?".

My heart sunk. Sure enough, the little critter figured out how to open the door on her cage, and she was gone. Brandi was instantly hysterical as the rest of us went on a hamster hunt. Now, the front door had been open for about 20 minutes, so we weren't hopeful that we would find her, but we looked for about half an hour.

Nothing.

So Junior unhooked the trailer, and off we went to Petco. The whole way there, all I kept thinking was how unfair it was that this had to happen to Brandi. She was already upset and stressed about changing schools; she didn't need this.

We get to the pet store, and find out pretty quick that they are out of teddy bear hamsters.

Perfect.

She looks at the rest, and they only have three female hamsters, and to be honest, they weren't really that cute. We asked the guy who works there to let us hold one, and as he goes to stick his hand in the cage, all three try to take a bite out of him. This is not the kind of animal I want.

So the guy turns to me and asks if we would be interested in "adopting" a hamster that has been handled since birth. He said he had a few in the back that are very friendly, and we were welcome to look at them.

So we head back there, and come to find out they are dwarf hamsters, so they are pretty tiny. The guy picks one up and hands it to me, and it just sat in my hand, then climbed up to my shoulder and sat there. It was so cute! There was no question that we would take one, until Junior opened his mouth.

"Let's get 2", he says.

Of course Brandi is loving that idea, so she picks out two of them, and we are ready to go. Or so I thought. Since Princess got out of the cage we have, I didn't want to put these guys (yes, they are boys, oh well) in there. Luckily we had an old snake cage, and all it needed was a lid.

And a water bottle, because the one we had hangs in the wire of the cage, and wouldn't work in a glass cage.

And a wheel, because again, the wheel we had attached to the cage, and wouldn't work on it's own.

And then we found the cutest little wood house, and I just couldn't resist.

$50 and three hours later, (we stopped for lunch, too) we headed back to the apartment. I told Brandi she had to stay in the van with the hamsters, and she couldn't get out for any reason. This was Junior's idea, because he was convinced that Princess had run outside, and he was worried the cats would find her, and Brandi just didn't need to see that.So Ryan, Kasi, Junior and I started loading the trailer. Kasi went to get something from her room, and as she was walking down the little hallway, she yelled, "there's Princess!". Sure enough, she was headed to their closet, so Junior trapped her in there and was able to catch her. We put her in her ball, and carried it out to the van. I asked Brandi if she wanted the ball for the boys, and when she said yes, I handed her the ball. When she saw princess inside she lost it again.

So now we have three hamsters, and they have to stay in separate cages. We can't put Princess in with the boys for two reasons. One, we don't want babies, and two, she is about five times bigger than they are. So now the boys are in the glass cage, and Princess is in her cage, but Junior fixed it so that she can not get the lid off.

And the good news? I get to clean the cages every week. So we all win!

De-Cluttering My Life

We are almost done moving, so maybe this weekend I will be able to sit down and type up all the things that have happened this week. I miss all my blogging friends, and even though I didn't think I would, I miss dropping ecards. I think when I finally find the time to get back to my old routine, I am going to clean up my computer, just like I de-cluttered my house when we moved. There are so many things that I can condense. For instance, I have several different emails. I have one for my crafts, one for facebook, one for each of the kids facebooks, one on aol that I never use. In fact, I think I started that one when my friend Nicole talked me into doing a myspace page, which I never go on. In fact, there is only one that I check on a regular basis, and that's my elephantlady one. The rest I can get rid of. I am thinking of checking out email hosting so that I can get rid of all of my email addresses, and put everything into one.

I just have to think of a cute address to use. I love my elephantlady one, but think I need something a little more mature, especially for my "work" sites. Maybe something involving my actual name.

I'll have to think about it.

The First Moving Story

I live in the south. It is not supposed to snow in the south. But, luckily, this year we have been snowed upon a couple of times, the most recent being the night before we moved.

That's right. Friday while I was here, at the new place, waiting for the phone guy, it started snowing. By the time he came and did what he had to do, it was snowing pretty good. We left to go to the apartment, and it took us almost an hour to make a trip that should have taken 15 minutes at the most. The roads were horrible, and we were convinced we would be stuck in that apartment forever.

Saturday morning, we get up ready to get moving, and look outside to find lots and lots of snow. Now, it looked beautiful, but we wanted to move! Then my mom calls, and she was flying to NY, and my sister was taking her to the airport but didn't want to take the kids, so I went and babysat for Carson and Lylah for a few hours. By the time we actually started moving things to the new place, it was well into the afternoon. In fact, we didn't even get the beds moved, and had to spend another night at the apartment.

Thankfully most of the snow melted during the day on Saturday, so we were able to get a good bit done yesterday, but there is only so much the kids and I can help Junior with. I am a weakling, and wasn't able to do much. I did, however, unpack most of the boxes today. That was until Junior made a trip from the apartment. Now I have new things to unpack tomorrow.

I promise, pictures of the new place are coming soon. I want to get everything in it's place first. And I have another story for you, which will explain why we had to stop moving for about three hours on Saturday...

I Need A Vacation

I am telling you. Right now, I just want to get away. I want to get a vacation rental and leave all this moving behind. I don't ever want to see another box or heavy piece of furniture. It has been four days, and we are still not completely moved. It has basically been Junior and the kids moving stuff, which makes for slow going. There are still at least four more loads we have to move before we can even think about luxury vacation rentals.

Junior is getting a bonus check in March, and maybe then we will look into vacation rentals. I really need to get away, even if it is only for a few days. Junior and I really didn't have a Valentine's Day, so maybe vacation homes are something we might be able to enjoy as a romantic getaway. The only drawback is that we would miss out on room service...

To My Wonderful Blog Friends....

We got the house...yay!!!!...so I will spend the next week or so trying to get ready to move. This means that I will not only be taking a break from entrecard as I have already posted, but I will be cutting back on the blogging as well. As soon as I am all unpacked and settled, I will post some pictures and get back to it. Until then, I may find time to do a post here and there, but for the most part will be super busy with other things. Try not to miss me too much!

Is It Possible To Love Doing Laundry?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Purex. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you watch that commercial? I literally laughed out loud the first time I saw it. It also made me want to try this product. In fact, the first time I heard about these "all in one" laundry sheets, I wanted to try them. But, me being me, I always forgot to look for them when I shopped. Those who know and love me know that I hate to shop, and having to actually look for a specific product isn't my style.

Until yesterday. I actually went into Walmart looking for these Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets. You see, the other day, I got a pack of the tropical scented ones in the mail to try out. I know, I'm a lucky girl. As soon as I opened the box, the smell hit me. It is an understatement to say that they smelled good. Luckily I had some dirty clothes lying around, so I started a load of laundry. Typically Kasi does the laundry, and while it is nice to not have to do it myself, I end up having to buy twice as much detergent, because she has a little trouble with the measuring cup. And by that I mean that she always puts in way too much detergent. These 3 in 1 sheets will be an easy way for her to use just the right amount.

Anyway, she was surprised when she got home from school and saw that I had done a couple of loads of laundry. The smell that hit me when I opened the box is nothing compared to how clean my laundry smelled. And everything was so soft! In the past, I used just detergent. No softeners, no dryer sheets. I now know what I have been missing! But being a lazy kind of girl, I still won't buy three different products, so I headed into Walmart to see how much these Purex sheets cost. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I can get the refill pack with 24 sheets for only $5, or the starter kit, which comes with 20 sheets and a dispenser for the same price. Talk about affordable! I also love that they are so easy to use. There is no measuring, and all you have to do is throw them into the washer, and then transfer to the dryer with the laundry. That's it.

The reward for all that hard work is soft, great smelling laundry. Kasi is going to love using them, and you can, too. In fact, you can get a free sample for yourself.

Goodbye, Captain Phil

I was very saddened to learn this morning that Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie, from the show Deadliest Catch, has died. My heart goes out to his sons, Jake and Josh, and the rest of his family.

The Maze

Do you want to see why I haven't been blogging? Take a look at these pictures. I have boxes everywhere! I have made little paths through them, just so that we can get from room to room. There have been many stubbed toes the past week or so, but it will all be worth it when we can leave this horrible little apartment.

I think we have finally found the perfect place. It is a cute three bedroom double wide, in a nice mobile home community. I can not, and will not, call it a trailer park, because it is so much more than that. The kids will have other kids to play with, and they will have lots of space to ride their bikes. Our yard is really tiny, but they do all the yard work. I know, you are all shocked that I would give up mowing myself since I love it so much, but rest assured. I now have mom's yard to mow, so it is all good.

When I spoke to the owner the other day, she pre-qualified us over the phone. The only thing holding us up is the background check, which should be back by tomorrow. There is not a doubt in my mind that we will pass that with flying colors. Once we hear back from her, we will go in and sign the lease. She said they have lots of restrictions, but good ones, like no loose dogs running around. In fact, no dogs over 10 pounds are allowed in the entire neighborhood, and they enforce the leash laws.

The house itself is cute. It has three bedrooms and two full baths. The kitchen is okay. The cabinets are handmade, and don't exactly match, but I am going to ask if I can paint them. Right now some of them are just unfinished wood, so I don't think it will be a problem. The living room is a nice size, and the bedroom for the girls is big enough for them to share comfortably. We can take our appliances (Yay! I was worried about this) and it's already hooked up for the cable company I use now, so they should be able to transfer my service pretty easily.

The only draw back is that Brandi has to change schools. As most of you know, she is my worrier, and this is pretty stressful for her. She has been crying on and off since we looked at the house yesterday. I keep telling her that she is going to make friends easily, and that we are only moving ten minutes away, if that, so she can still have play dates with her friends she has now. But, being eight, I know it's hard to say goodbye to the kids she has known for years. She told me that she is nervous about walking into a new classroom alone, and I told her that Junior and I will take her on her first day. I hope the school allows us to walk her to her class. I am actually hoping that we can set up a tour of the school beforehand so she can kind of get to know the layout.

But, I know in my heart that this is a good thing, and that if we hear back that we got the place tomorrow, that is where we are meant to be. All the other places we have looked at have fallen through for one reason or another, so I have to believe that all of that was because we belong in this house. Does that make sense?

Kasi Got A Haircut

Doesn't she look great? The girl who cut her hair thinned it out a lot, and it is much more manageable. I took her to one of those "quick cut" places, and while I love the end result, this is not the cut she asked for. She wanted it to be shorter in the back, and angled longer in the front.

Not only did the girl not give her the cut she wanted, she also parted her hair in the middle, instead of on the side, so when Kasi got home and fixed her part, I had to trim some strays. I guess we got what we paid for, because it only cost $11. But, I know that in the future, if Kasi wants to get the cut she wants, we will have to check out dallas hair salons, and have a professional cut it instead of some kid right out of beauty school.

Now she is trying to talk me into letting her put some color in her hair. And by color, I mean purple streaks. While I am all for encouraging my kids to express themselves, I am having a hard time giving in on this one. I think she should wait a few more years before she starts damaging her hair.

What do you think?

Taking A Break

As much as I hate to, I am going to be taking a break from dropping for a little while. I have been doing 300 a day forever, but right now I just can not find the time. You can probably tell that even my posting is slacking right now. Once we move and get settled in the new place, I will be back. For now, I have to concentrate on getting this house packed up. Please don't stop visiting...I promise this is only temporary.

Valentine's Day Chocolates

Chocolate. A very popular gift choice for Valentine's Day. I think the only thing that might be a little more popular is flowers, especially roses. I saw the most beautiful purple roses at our local grocery store today, and gave Junior a major hint about them. But, since we plan on moving this weekend, I think my Valentine's Day gifts will have to wait.

If you are planning on buying chocolates for your loved ones, I want to suggest you buy them from Intentional Chocolates. It doesn't matter what kind of chocolates you are looking for, whether it's Dark Chocolate, milk chocolate, or truffles. If you order from this site, they will donate 100% of their profits, from now until Sunday (Valentine's Day) to charities helping the people of Haiti. So not only will you be showing your loved ones you are thinking of them, you will be helping others.

Now, isn't that the best gift of all?

My Birthday At Mom's House

This past weekend, I celebrated my birthday at my mom's house. Colleen, Mike, Carson, and Lylah were there, as well as Missy, Sam, Alex and Hayden. I had such a wonderful time! As you can see, my birthday cake wasn't of the "normal" variety....it was a delicious home made crumb cake. My mom did an amazing job, and because I was the birthday girl, I took it all home with me. Okay, maybe I let mom keep a piece, and I think Colleen took a couple of pieces, but most of it came home with me, and I have been enjoying it little by little. I wish I could eat the whole thing at once, but it is so rich, so I get to enjoy it for a while longer. Mom also made some delicious brownies, and I will be posting those on my other blog.

Want a close up of that cake?

I know, it looks yummy. I wish I could share it with all of you...nah, who am I kidding? lol! It's all mine!

Man, This Is Frustrating

I am so frustrated right now! We have had so much snow and rain in the past couple of weeks, and it is starting to mess with my internet. I don't know if it's because the wire that is buried in my yard is getting wet or if the connections on the pole are water logged, but I keep getting booted offline. I was trying to play a game on Facebook, and every time it tried to load the page, the connection disappeared. I thought it might have been Facebook, so I tried to do a little blog hopping.

It did the same thing. I tried calling my internet provider, and I got a message saying that they have had several calls about the service in this area, and they are looking into it. I guess they don't understand that I work from home, and I have to have reliable service. To be perfectly honest, this is really the first time I have really had an issue with them. But, if it happens now, who's to say it won't be an ongoing problem. Maybe when we move I can talk Junior into looking into wild blue satellite internet. In fact, depending on where we move, we may not be able to continue with our existing service. It's funny how down here in the south, when they build new houses, if there isn't a high demand for cable service, they won't run the wires to those houses. This means entire neighborhoods have to rely on satellites for not only television, but internet as well.

Whatever happens, I will have to have reliable service. I mean, my cats on Happy pets can't feed themselves.

Me And My Cakes

We made a trip to my dad's house on my birthday for dinner. Unfortunately, it started to snow along the way, so we didn't stay very long for fear of the roads freezing. We did enjoy a yummy dinner and birthday cake before we left. My gift was the Twilight game, and I can not wait to play when my sister is visiting next week.

Junior and the kids got me a cake tonight, and I have to say, it was something I have been missing for, oh, about 16 years. It was a CARVEL cake! Oh my goodness...those chocolate crunchies...man, I could have eaten the entire thing myself! I wish they had Carvel down here, because there soft ice cream is the absolute best.

It's one of the things I do miss from NY...

Help The Children

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Cryo-Cell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was pregnant with my children, people were just starting to talk about the benefits of banking babies cord blood. Back then, it was very expensive, and not all the benefits were known.

Nowadays, not only is banking cord blood more affordable, we also know some of the benefits of doing so. For instance, did you know that not only is your child's cord blood a perfect match for him or her; there is also a one in four chance that it could be used on a sibling. This means that even if you are pregnant with your third or fourth child, it's not too late to make the decision that could potentially help all of your kids. They are finding so many diseases that can be helped with the stem cells found in cord blood, that you can even look at it as an investment in your child (children's) future health.

Right now, Cryo-cell is donating $25 to the Save the Children: Haiti Relief Fund for every enrollment during the month of February. The earthquakes that hit Haiti were devastating, to say the least, and now you can help. You can enroll now and make a difference in not only your child's life, but in the lives of the children in Haiti.

The Big 38

Where have the past 20 years gone? I sure don't feel my age, which is a good thing I guess. I am also not stressing that in 2 years I will be 40. I really can not wrap my mind around that. For today, I am going to enjoy my day. We're having dinner at my dad's tonight, and a party at my mom's on Sunday. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Stop Waiting And Get Going!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

If everything goes as planned, next weekend we will be moving. We turned in the rental application today, but there have been several others who did the same, so the guy will pick the best one. We're hoping that will be us.

If we do get it, I will spend next week getting all our utilities and stuff changed over. I am thinking about upgrading my internet speed when they switch it. Charter offers great deals on their packages, and right now they are offering free installation. I am hoping that even though I am an existing customer, I can still get the free installation.


Having Charter for my internet was a deciding factor in our rental choices. I refuse to go back to DSL. When we moved into this apartment, it wasn't wired for Charter, so we went with the DSL our phone provider provided. After about two days, I was begging Junior to try and get Charter here. We had it at the house, and I couldn't believe the difference in speed between them and DSL. I know it's crazy to expect instant access, but that is what Charter offers, and I love it. I love playing my games online, and also downloading whatever I want, without having to wait FOREVER! Trust me when I say that you should stop waiting and get going. Make the switch to Charter and get high speed internet for only $19.99. That is an awesome price, and I speak from experience.

You can also become a fan of Charter’s Facebook page to keep up to date with specials and programming details.

The Best Worst Cook Is...

Rachel!

And trust me when I say I was SHOCKED! I was convinced Jenny would win, and I felt so bad for her when she didn't. I believe it was Anne's positive attitude in the kitchen that helped Rachel win. Beau was down Jenny's back the entire time, and I think it showed in her food.

I wonder if this will be a new series, or just a one time show?

Saving Money Is Fun To Do

Shopping online is going to become the norm someday. Why do we need malls and super stores when we can buy the same things from the comfort of our homes in our pajamas? Heck, even grocery stores are starting to deliver groceries. Hermits like me can live forever, and never leave home. I just need to convince Junior that we need to move closer to a Chinese restaurant that delivers. And a pizza place. Oh, and maybe a McDonald's. Can you imagine how much money McDonald's would make if they delivered? Maybe I need to pitch this idea to my local franchise owner, who I happen to know personally since I have worked for him in the past, for many, many years.

I think I am getting a little off topic, which was shopping. I am not a big fan of shopping. At all. But, I know that sometimes I just have to suck it up and buy the things that my kids and husband need. That's right, very rarely do I buy myself anything. Only when I get gift cards and money for my birthday, which happens to be in three days. Then I like to shop. I am hoping to get enough money together this year to buy myself the wii fit. This is something I really want, because I have heard such good things about it. I also want the Biggest Loser wii game. Maybe I will get enough money to buy both. Who knows.

But before I buy anything, I will check online for the best deals. If I can buy them while sitting here in my comfy clothes, that would be awesome. I love finding sites that offer coupon codes and discounts, like DealTattle.com - Coupon Codes & Discounts. Having coupon codes can save me money, and sometimes I can find deals for free shipping. Saving money is high on my list of priorities these days. In fact, I think saving money is high on a lot of people's lists these days.

I am off to see what other types of deals I can find. I want bookshelves for the kids room when we move, and I'm hoping to find a good deal on those. Wish me luck!

My Heart Goes Out To You, Captain Phil Harris

This morning was a rough one. The kids had a two hour delay, and I was undecided last night whether or not to send them to school. Every other district in the area closed, and I didn't want to put my kids on a bus that will travel icy roads. I decided to let Junior make the decision, after driving to work at 3:30am.

So last night I finally drift off about 1:30am, only to wake to the alarm clock 45 minutes later to get Junior up. I told him to call me once he got to work, so I knew whether or not the roads were good enough for the bus.

He said they were fine when he called at 4am, so I laid back down after setting the alarm for 6:30am. As luck would have it, I couldn't fall back to sleep. I think I finally drifted off around 5, so I was pretty exhausted when I had to get up at 6:30. If you were keeping track, that is only about 4 hours sleep for this girl who needs at least 8 to function.

After feeding the kids (no breakfast at school on delay days) and getting them out the door, I decide to lay back down for a while. I wasn't asleep 30 minutes when the phone rang, and it was Junior. I was pretty much still asleep when he asks if I heard what happened to Sig.

I was all, "who?".

And he's all, "you know, Sig from the Cornelia Marie".

Then I was all, "Sig is the Northwestern".

And he was all, "Yeah, the one who had the blood clots".

Then I was all, "Oh, that's...oh crap, why can't I think of his name...I can see his face clear as day...why, what am I supposed to have heard?".

And that's when he tells me that "Sig" had a stroke. I told him again that his name isn't Sig, and drag my butt out of bed to look online. As soon as I found the article, I was like, duh, Phil. How could I forget his name? The article said that he had a stroke on the boat, but while he was in port unloading. Thank God for that, because I am sure if he was at sea, he wouldn't be resting comfortably in a hospital. That seems to be the only information I can find, that he is "resting comfortably" and that he has "excellent doctors" working on him.

I know these are people I have never met, but my heart goes out to him and his family. I wish him a full and speedy recovery, because Deadliest Catch won't be the same without him.