Daily Random Thoughts

Almost a year!

2010-05-18T12:39:00.003-05:00

I don't know if anyone still follows this blog. Ha! Regardless, I'm updating anyway. Even if it has been almost a year.

Oh how things have changed.

Life is hard. But isn't it for everyone? Not sure why I feel like I should get to complain about it, but I will anyway. I'm good at complaining.

The girls are great. They turn 4 in a little more than a month. It completely blows my mind that by this time next year, they'll be in school. Real school. What happened to my babies?!

Marriage. Yeah. It's been better. I guess that's really all I have on that.

Work. Busy? Understatement of the century! :)

School! School is great! I have one more year left! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to get there.

We now live in Quincy...official Illinois residents. I love it here. I'm so grateful for all the opportunties I was given to get here. Everything usually does work out. I'm starting to really let go a little, let whatever happens...happen. Because me trying to control things isn't working.

Until next time...

I almost forgot my password...

2009-08-28T13:37:00.002-05:00

That's how long its been!

Since the last update, of course lots of things have happened and changed, most of which I would have a terrible time attempting to recall!

Work is busy but I feel like I'm making some progress...as far as advancement and the related fun things that come with it. Hard work, lots of stuff to do, drama and gossip...all in a day's work right?!

The girls are great. I feel like we're finally making some progress in the world of potty training. They moved up to a new "home room" at school and since then, we've seen a lot of progress for Lily. Ava is stubborn and I'm not sure how easily it will come for her, but maybe with the push of Lily's praise-getting...we'll see some change for her too. My babies are growing up!

I've started school! I've got one week under my belt, 15 to go! The first class...the teacher didn't show up. And the second class...the online course listing gave the wrong details for the book we were to purchase. Ugh! Here's hoping that the remainder of the term goes well. :)

I suck...

2009-05-02T17:02:00.002-05:00

I don't even know where to start with my update! Yikes! How about with the fact that I did not win in my NCAA bracket pool at work. In fact, I think I got like 5th place. I was in first place until the very last game. Talk about a crock of shit. :)

I can't believe it's May already. We have a big upgrade that starts at midnight Sunday, so my upcoming week will be pure hell. My schedule is all whacked, with me starting after 10 most days, which will keep me at the hospital until at least 7 each night. I'm not very excited, but it's only a week and it will be nice to have this project off our list.

I survived my first week of on-call for work. I had a ton of calls from Doctors, who I've found love to call the help desk, leave a message with their issue and then not return my calls when I try and contact them with either follow-up questions or a resolution. It's very rude!

Everyone needs to visit this site, and read the book "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell". Well, everyone that enjoys crude and slightly disgusting (okay, totally disgusting) man humor.

A few weeks ago, I had my first experience at a strip club. That was interesting. I've always been prudish and critical of strip clubs. I thought I was going to barf as Kristi, Candice, and I sat in the parking lot of the club. I did NOT want to go in. But I learned a lot that night. And it's true what they say, strippers have feelings too. :)

The girls turn three next month. I'm very much on the fence with how I feel about this. They are growing and changing and are smarter each day. But, at the same time...they are growing and changing! I'm not ready for this. I have started to feel little pulls of, "I want another baby"...but usually it's quickly overtaken with the "Why in the HELL would I want to start all over!" feelings.

Hopefully I can get some pictures posted sometime today. And hopefully I can be better about updating my blog. Well, it won't happen this week...maybe next?! :)

March Madness!

2009-03-28T15:05:00.008-05:00

And I'm not just talking basketball here, people. As I peek out my window, from the sky falls a mixture of ice and snow. And Monday...it should be a spring-like 60 degrees. WTF, indeed.

But, we can talk about basketball too. Because currently, I am in first place in my work pool. FIRST PLACE. Proof:

That's right folks, just a few more days and I may be the proud winner of around $60 cash money. :)

Other than that, I'm ready for the weather to be nice so the girls can enjoy the park a few days a week and so I can open my windows and not run the heat! Work is going okay. It's busy...that's for sure, but the politics are getting a little tiring. But, I'm of the camp that currently feels like "I'm happy to have a job, even if it sucks sometimes!"

My birthday was great!

And the girls just woke up from a nap so that's all for now! Happy weekending!

I know, I know...

2009-03-12T07:35:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time. Oh well.

I feel like crap. I've got something funky growing on the back of my throat and I'm waiting for the employee health nurse to get in so she can tell me to try something over-the-counter like she always does. And then I'll have to make a real doctors appointment and spend another day sick. Awesome.

My birthday is next week...no big deal as usual, though I am going out to dinner with my co-worker/fast friend Alicia and her family. Keith's Cafe. MMMMMmmmmmmMMMMMM!

Also, I'm considering taking St. Patty's Day off to participate in a low-key, 3 person pub crawl.

So that's my life in a nutshell as of late. It's been sucky in the life of Jeana as of recent. Here's to hoping it gets better.

An update from the weekend...

2009-02-08T15:23:00.011-06:00

Saturday, we dropped the girls off at Brandon's Mom's house for a day of being spoiled rotten. I believe that was successfully achieved. While they were loved on, Brandon and I picked up his cousin Chris, and went ice fishing.

I, being the type of person that doesn't quite understand how well ice fishing in 68 degree February weather will work, was very skeptical of the whole deal. And nervous. I mean, I love swimming...don't get me wrong. But I don't like falling through ice into a grody pond and swimming for salvation. I started out in the truck, working on my homework. Finally, I got a picture message from Brandon showing me alllllll the fish they'd caught so far. I suddenly became very interested.

You see, I'm very much a fair-weather fisherwoman. If the fish aren't biting...I'll read, or sit on bank, or nap. Being outdoors is generally enough entertainment for me. But as soon as someone starts catching lots of fish, I'll take over their spot...essentially pushing them out of their honey-hole and catching all the fish they had just found!

So, in honor of the overtaking of the hole through the ice that was catching the most fish...I have picture for you:

This was the first of many fish I caught on Saturday. Such a pretty crappie. Tasted good too! :)

And today...I made these:

(credit to Pioneer Woman for the photo...)

Mmmm...Spreads. Basically, a deconstructed chocolate chip cookie. You take the chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chocolate chips), flop it down on a cookie sheet and spread it out...bake it...then pour the chocolate chips on top and allow them to melt. Then you spread the chocolate over the cookies.

And they are really, really good.

Like, really.

I didn't make the baked fudge because no where in our miserable town seems to sell ramekins. What the fudge?! (Literally!)

Back to the "real world" tomorrow. Ugh.

The weekend ahead...

2009-02-06T07:21:00.003-06:00

I'm making these:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/delicious-baked-fudge.pdf

And will try and only eat one. Because I'm on a diet and all. And it really is going well. I'm down nearly 2 lbs this week. I'd set a goal of 20 lbs in a month (since Jillian says it can be done, and her word is frickin' gospel), but I think that goal was probably a little lofty. I'm okay with that...because even if I don't lose 20, I could lose 15 in the pursuit of it.

And really, at this point...a loss is a loss to me!

I've done 4 days (tonight will be 5) of the 30 Day Shred. I really enjoy it. I've turned a couple of co-workers on to it. I can't wait to hear their reviews when they get in today.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Up-diz-ate...

2009-02-03T08:55:00.002-06:00

1. We went to Omaha this past weekend, to take the girls to the Children's Museum and the zoo. Good times were had by all. I think we need to install a slide like the one at the museum. Ava and Lily could have easily spent the entire day going down the slide, back up the stairs, down the slide, etc etc. It was so great seeing everyone. It made Brandon and I miss Omaha even more, I think. The kids all had so much fun playing together. We ate tons of good food and by the time we got home on Sunday were were past pooped and just plain worn out.

2. I started 30 Day Shred last night. OMG.

3. I finally got to meet Sarah the slutface. She's adorable and dresses way too cute. So I kind of hate her. Additionally, you should have had a look at the waffle she at at FarmHouse. Yeesh. Don't let that chick fool ya, she can put some food away.

4. Kristi and I are gearing up for the DREAM Bowling event on March 7th. I have such fabulous ideas for my costume. It will be full-on hilarious.

More to come...

I'm glad I got tagged...

2009-01-14T07:34:00.003-06:00

I needed a blog topic. ;) Thanks, Niki!

First:
1. Five names I go by:
Jeana, Jeana Rae, Sis, Mom, "Hey you", and "computer girl"...

2. Three things I am wearing right now:
French Blue Eddie Bauer wrinkle resistant shirt (don't you love the detail), black pants, and killer heels. Not killer because they are awesome or anything...but just because they are heels and I am wearing them at all.

3. Two things I want very badly at the moment:
A phone call, and a million dollars!

4. Three people who will probably fill this out:
Kristi, Sarah, and Beth. Because I SAY SO!

5. Two things I did last night:
Watched American Idol and encouraged my nephew to spew profanity.

6. Two things I ate today:
So far, Diet Cherry Pepsi and spit. :)

7. Two people I talked last to on the phone:
Two people at work.

8. Two things I am going to do tomorrow:
Work, and work...

9. Two longest car rides:
To Colorado and to Canada. Ew. Long car rides blow.

10. Two favorite beverages:
Sweet tea and lemonade

Second:
4 favorite memories from 2008:
Parts of my trip to Canada, Girls weekend in Omaha in October, Christmas with my family, Ava and Lily's second birthday

4 favorite movies in 2008:
Stepbrothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 21, and Stepbrothers again because it is THAT good.

4 favorite foods in 2008:
Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings, mashed potatoes with homemade noodles, string cheese, Holiday Grapes

4 places I loved in 2008:
I didn't go anywhere really so Dryden, Ontario...Omaha, Nebraska...and that's about it!

4 things I liked in 2008:
Dotti-Cab, seeing my BFF for a weekend, Top Chef, losing weight

4 things I am looking forward to in 2009:
Losing more weight, seeing my friends more, another girls weekend, more growing and changing from my girls.

4 people I tag:
Sarah, Kristi, Beth, Amber

Monday...

2009-01-12T07:41:00.002-06:00

Guess what, oh faithful followers of all things Jeana...

AMERICAN IDOL STARTS TOMORROW!

Yeah, I'm excited. I have accepted the fact that it makes me a complete loser. And I'm okay with that. Mainly because I know Kristi is a loser too. The plan is to have my brother and his family over for dinner in true "American Idol loser family" tradition. We like to heckle and mock. It suits us.

I spent the first part of my morning making my to-do list for work today. I'm over halfway down the first page of a legal pad. That's never a good sign. We had a decent weekend...didn't do much of anything really. I did help my Dad set up an automatic deer feeder. It kicks out food at set times. Nothing like baiting the furry little critters.

Oh, and we have definitely NOT made the switch from Nemo to Horton. Nope. Nemo is going to have to get lost, I think.

Here's to hoping this week is fast and fairly painless.

Knock knock...who's there?

2009-01-07T08:56:00.003-06:00

So, that skank over at Simply Living Sarah had a post that really made me think...while I don't have as many daily hits as she does, I still average more than I would even think this blog would get. Let's face it...I'm not so interesting.

I had an idea, and hopefully you will all play along! If you're visiting my blog and reading all the randomness, please leave me a comment on this post. I know a few of you do read my boring crap, but just humor me, will ya?

Thanks! :)

Monday's suck...

2009-01-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

1. The girls were super pissed to go to school. Explaining to them that Mommy isn't really keen on going to work doesn't make much of a difference.

2. I just realized how (albeit some of it self-imposed) busy the first five months of 2009 will be for me. Between work conference in Kansas City (which is rumored to be jam-packed with sessions this year, as opposed to boooooorrring like last year) and *hopefully* training in Atlanta, plus a girls trip to Chicago with my BFF and a much needed long Omaha weekend with the kids...my head is kind of spinning. All of it is either going to be educational, fun, well-worth it, or a nice combination of all three. But that's a lot of travel to get in before May.

3. We finally took the Christmas tree down yesterday. Ava and Lily were so sad. But I was most certainly ready to reclaim that portion of my living room. Ava kept asking, "But we keep our presents right?!"

I think that's all for now. It wasn't a very exciting weekend, given the illness of Brandon and my feeling poopy since the better part of last week. I think I'm finally starting to feel better. But this is a great way to kickstart a diet! With an over 8 lb loss in one week! For the first time since I got it, my WiiFit didn't yell at me or call me lazy. :)

Randoms...since it's been awhile.

2009-01-03T09:55:00.004-06:00

1. I'm currently addicted to Rihanna's "Rehab". Could be that I like the song. Could be that I like the video. You decide.

2. I'm watching an infomercial for "Flirty Girl Fit". (http://www.flirtygirlfit.com/ for you hookers interested in learning some pole dancing skillz). I am just laughing. And laughing. And laughing. Slightly jealous that I can't do that with my ass. But I'll take what I can get.

3. I used to hate Jason Mraz, but his latest album has had a couple songs I like. My current fave is his duet with Colbie Calliat.

4. I miss my Omaha friends. :(

5. I'm hoping that I've finally made the switch from "Finding Nemo" to any other movie under the sun. We started this transition with Ava and Lily last night...the switch-a-roo with "Horton Hears a Who". Wish me luck. I can't stand one more session of "Keep on swimming..."

6. Brandon has been sick since last night. It's been terrible. Send your "I sure hope Jeana doesn't end up sick too" wishes!

Happy weekend!

Happy New Year and shit...

2009-01-02T07:46:00.003-06:00

Because Kristi finally decided to update her blog and actually had a very loving and wonderful message about how spectacular I am, I kind of thought I'd better update too. It's better than working on the Friday after New Year's Day when everyone else and their dog took the day off.

Bastards.

Lets see...Christmas run-down. It was a good holiday, but it was a terribly long day. Brandon and I were up at 5 am to get ready before we woke the girls up, seeing that we had to be on the road by 7:30 am to make it to our first Christmas party. We busted into the girls' room...video camera in hand...totally ambushing them. They were very much thinking "what the hell is wrong with you" the entire time.

But let's rewind a bit.

I'm wrapping presents on Christmas Eve. I finally nag Brandon enough that he gives in and helps me. Lily asked for a choo-choo, so I'd ordered what I thought to be a case with trains INSIDE. Wrong-o. No trains. Just a case. Brandon discovers this around the 9 o'clock hour. I burst in to tears. A choo-choo is the only thing Lily asked for, and now...because I'm a spaz who apparently can't read...she's going to think Santa hates her (Oh, and if you still believed in Santa...sorry I ruined it for you). I knew even the armpit of the universe (aka Wal-Mart) closed at 6 pm. What the heck were we going to do?! Brandon told me to try and call K-Mart in the neighboring town and see if they were open. Sure enough, they were...but closing at 10 pm! So Brandon raced to K-Mart, found the trains and saved Christmas.

So back to Christmas morning. Lily loved the trains. Ava loved all her Spiderman stuff. My kids are weird.

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur. Lots of presents...so many that the girls just got tired of opening them. Our living room looks like Toys-R-Us threw up all over the place. We're so grateful that we have such generous families.

New Years Eve was nice. We went to my brother's house for dinner. Being a weeknight, and Brandon having to work the next day we weren't planning on having TOO much fun and we were successful with that. :) I'd kind of planned to leave by 8, but we ended up staying until 10. I guess 9:59 is Ava's threshold because she had the most major meltdown I've ever seen. Ever try and put a coat on a 33-ish pound fish that is extremely irate and wants to tear your face off? That's kind of what Ava was. Flopping. Floundering. Kicking. Screaming. Scratching. I think she might have tried to get a bite or two in as well. And then you've got Lily...chill as chill can be, just looking on. At least when these things happen it usually is only one of them having the fit. So I fought with her for a good 5 minutes to put her coat on, and let her win the "I don't want to wear my boots" battle. I wouldn't want to wear cowboy boots either, kid...but that's what YOU picked out. So independent.

She screamed allllll the way home. Granted, it's like 5 miles. But it was a long five miles. This was after she would not let me buckle her car seat. Only Daddy was good enough. Whatevs, have at it. Putting her pajamas on was just as much of a battle. To say when the screaming subsided and peace and quiet prevailed, that I was ecstatic, is an understatement.

Brandon played his Call of Duty game, finally beating it (after what, like 3 days...money well spent there). I did a whole lot of nothing, talking to some friends online most of the night. They kept me company, bless their hearts...complete losers like me. :) Oh, and Kristi doesn't count in this because technically she was out at a party. And we were talking on Blackberry Messenger so that, I guess...is less loserish than Facebook Chat or MSN.

(Disclaimer: I don't think my friends are really losers. I'm glad they were there to keep me company.)

Other than that, not much is new. 2009 is here, and it will take me a solid 2 months to write it correctly on checks. I start back to college (ohmygawd what was I thinking) on the 12th of this month. An online course on Weather and Climate. I need a 4 hour science course to round out all my pre-reqs for the accelerated program I'm doing for my Bachelors so I thought I'd get that out of the way first. My Mom said I'll be the official family Meteorologist after this class, surpassing my brother and his expertise obtained through watching hours, and hours, and HOURS of The Weather Channel. It's an online course, so I'm glad for that...but word on the street is that the professor requires a lot of extra work because of that fact. Awesome.

Until next time...

Kristi and Beth

2008-12-09T07:37:00.001-06:00

I'm calling you whores out. Update your damn blogs. If I can do it, YOU can do it.

NFT.
TIA.

Preparing for Christmas!

2008-12-08T08:26:00.003-06:00

The tree has been purchased (a 7.5 foot pre-lit jobber from Lowes), put up and decorated. The girls absolutely love it. This morning when they got up, the first thing Lily asked was, "Why isn't the Christmas Tree on?!" So we had to turn it on or risk a meltdown before 6 am. We were going to go the real tree route, but Saturday was just so cold and windy so Brandon finally, after at least seven years of resistance...gave in to the fake tree. It makes me sad, because I know he loves real trees. But I'm also beside myself happy with the fake tree. It's beautiful.

So, after we got the tree up...Sunday evening was spent trying to take a decent picture for our Christmas cards. Ay yi yi. 58 photos. That's how many we took just to get a decent one (or two...as you see above). We seriously need a remote for our camera. It's got a timer, which was handy and all...but all the running back and forth. Poor Brandon. I did it for a few sets and my legs are sore today. How sad is that?

So, just a few more weeks until Christmas. I can't wait to see the girls open presents. It's going to be a really great holiday. They're really at a fun age.

Turkey Day, Retail Madness, and more...

2008-12-01T11:59:00.003-06:00

1. Turkey Day. Gotta love a holiday devoted strictly to eating. Well, I do at least. Thanksgiving is a long day, only overshadowed by Christmas in the length of torture we're subjected to. It was made easier this year because my Mom hosted lunch, which meant we didn't have to drive an additional hour round-trip to have lunch with my family, to only turn around and come back to dinner with my husband's family. In summary, no one fought, no cussing, no hitting/throwing rolls/shoving faces in cranberry salad. Oh who am I kidding. We never have knock-down drag outs on Thanksgiving. And we always cuss. I ate at least 3 pieces of pumpkin pie, 2 pieces of apple pie, and 1 piece of peach pie in a 24 hour period. I ate very little turkey and probably a plate-sized serving of mashed potatoes. God Bless you Pilgrims.

2. Retail Madness. Brandon so lovingly volunteered to keep the girls on Friday so Mom and I could venture into the unknown (aka "Black Friday" shopping). We didn't leave the house until around 6:45 Friday morning so we missed most of the initial mad dash. And neither of us were really going for any deals in particular. That must have helped. Mom got a coat she'd been eyeing and I found a few clothes as well. Also got a few more presents for the girls, and some things Brandon needed. When we were all done, we made it home in time for dinner and didn't kill anyone! We're hoping to go again next year. I think it should be an annual thing. But we both agreed we would probably never do the super early door-buster things. Those people are just nuts.

And more!

What a long holiday weekend. It's sad that it is almost nice to return to work. Well, I'm sure tomorrow will be another story.

A new blog to follow (and I'll add it to my blog roll on the right)! Niki is a marathon runner and just so happens to be one of my new-found heroes! Anyone who can run that far without collapsing into a quivering heap of muscle cramps shoots straight to the top of my list. She gives me inspiration! Or at least small fits of jealous rage when I realize how out of shape I am!

http://crosscountrysquared.blogspot.com/

A successful weekend!

2008-11-16T18:53:00.005-06:00

My Kids and Wal-Mart

2008-11-11T20:59:00.000-06:00

1) They were complete terrors the entire time we were in there.

2) Did I mention the complete terror part?

3) Ava refused to put on her coat. So, I calmly escorted her to the bathroom while Brandon checked out and kept Lily. You know, that whole "do we need to go to the bathroom" trick. Anyway, we're getting ready to exit the stall post-coat reinstallation and I see two little hands coming towards us under the stall door. Then I notice that those two little hands are sticking out of a purple coat. And then I see a funky stocking cap that sort of resembles the one that my other demon child, Lily, wears. And then I see her chubby cheeks.

"LILY! GET OFF THE FLOOR!"

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiz Mommaaaaay! Whaz you doin'?!"

I guess she darted off into the women's bathroom and of course my husband could not run in after to wrangle.

It's been too long!

2008-11-10T19:58:00.003-06:00

Omaha: My visit was fantastic. I was so excited to get there (the flight sucked, as it was raining and very turbulent), but Kristi was a total lesbo and cried as soon as I came through the security area. I love that crazy bitch. She drove me erratically to Chipotle, to fulfil my first wish of a chicken burrito. Mmmmm it was good. I think we must have talked about a mile a minute until we finally went to sleep. We did some shopping, lots of eating, lots of laughing, and just some good catching up. Girls night was Friday, with drinks at Kona, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and then J. Medicine Hat at the Funny Bone. It had been a long time since I'd had that much fun. Michelle was so hilarious...busting her ass in the middle of the mall parking lot. We had so much fun. Leaving on Sunday was terribly hard. Kristi and I both cried (of course). The TSA screeners must have thought we were together. It made me chuckle once I got to my gate. I almost took a delay on my flight so I could get a $200 travel voucher and reimbursement for the one way flight. That would have been at least one more trip to Omaha, plus another half of a trip. Darn. But I was ready to get home and see my family.

Kids: They are really good, except for the creepy crud they've got going on. I think it's going to be a painfully long cold and flu season.

Work: Work is...work. It sucks some days. It's decent others. Hopefully it gets better, or at least slows down some. With the holidays coming up, I'd at least like to be able to enjoy them this year.

I might as well make my New Year's resolution now. And see how many days it takes for me to break it. :) I resolve to update my blog once a week!

Here's to keeping a promise!

Pictures and Weekend Update

2008-11-03T07:34:00.010-06:00

First, behold the monstrosity of a deer stand that my husband is building for a family friend. It will have electricity and is 12 feet by 12 feet...big enough that he can hunt from it, as well as sleep in it. Since the location is in the middle of a flood plain that has, in fact, flooded twice in the past 15 years, the idea was born to build something elevated which would protect it from the flood waters. So, here it is:

Next, here is a picture I took in my parents' backyard. I love fall.

And finally, some kid pictures because I'm a shameless braggart about my beautiful children:

Sure, she'll tag me...

2008-10-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

But will she drag her ass out to Wheatfields to meet me. F*ck no. Thanks Sarah. ;)

Answer the following with one word:

Where is your cell phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? Basement
our hair color? Redish
Your mother? Loving
Your father? Protective
Your favorite thing? Family
Your dream last night? Non-existent
Your dream/goal? Happiness
The room you’re in? Living
Your hobby? Hobby?
Your fear? Loss
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
Where were you last night? Home
What you’re not? Skinny
One of your wish-list items? House
Where you grew up? Missouri
The last thing you did? Talk
What are you wearing? PJs
Your TV? Nice
Your pet? None
Your computer? Laptop
Your mood? Exhausted
Missing someone? Yes
Favorite store? Pottery Barn
Our summer? Short
Love someone? Brandon (and kids)
Your favorite color? Purple
When is the last time you laughed? hours
Last time you cried? Yesterday

Omaha here I come...

2008-10-23T08:46:00.003-05:00

Ready or not!

(Hey, I used to work in that tallest building! I miss those days...)

From the weekend...

2008-10-20T07:25:00.004-05:00

We visited my parents, and spent the weekend enjoying the wonderful weather. Brandon bought the girls Carhart bibs, as illustrated in the pictures above. How freaking cute are they. Also, while on the boat (on the way to the duck blind to do some work on it) we found that Lily could not get her hand to her mouth to eat her cookie (first picture). The life vest and abundance of warm clothing was causing her some problems! :)

Anyway, Carharts and toddlers...cuteness times ten thousand!

Tag! You're it!

2008-10-15T12:17:00.003-05:00

Here are the rules:
1-Link to your tagger and list the rules
2-List 5 random facts about yourself
3-Tag 5 people
4-If you're tagged, play along and pass it on!

1. I had hip surgery at the age of 19. I don't think it corrected the problem and I wish I'd never done it.
2. I've had SIX different mailing addresses since 2004. I bet the IRS thinks I'm up to something.
3. I wish I could open my own restaurant.
4. I was an art minor in college.
5. My best friend lives like seven hours away and it's pure torture.

I am tagging:
Kristi
Amy
Sarah
Anna
(I fall one short. Sue me, will ya?)

Pictures.

2008-10-12T15:39:00.003-05:00

Top - The girls, in a photo that I did a little "work" on. It's pretty cool, I think.

Middle - Huuuuuge building that Brandon and his crew re-shingled this weekend. Well, they are still working on it as I type. But they're on the last side at least.

Bottom - Brandon (left) and my brother. My brother is terrified of heights. Like, starts clinging to anything he can grab when he gets more than his height off the ground. I'm pretty proud of him for tackling that fear and helping out his brother-in-law.

Sunday update...

2008-10-12T08:44:00.002-05:00

It's been a long weekend. Brandon has been working on a side job (putting new shingles on a large building at a fertilizer plant) since Friday morning. It's been a lot of one-on-two time with the girls. And they've done pretty well. But when they get tired, we have some rough patches. We'll be taking the guys lunch today, probably pizza, so we'll at least get out of the house today.

I made some cookies for the guys: Recipe here. I leave out the nuts, and added butterscotch chips. I'm sure they'll be wonderful. I'm going to try and only eat like...one?

I started a SparkTeam (www.sparkpeople.com) with some of the gals on the Omaha Nest board. So far, it seems to be going good. It does keep me somewhat accountable. I say somewhat because the weekends are always hard for me. But I kind of feel if I can MAINTAIN on the weekend, I can leave the real losing for the week. We'll see how far this gets me.

Omaha visit in eleven days. 11 days!

Updates...via Pictures!

2008-10-10T08:17:00.009-05:00

You KNOW it's bad when your husband starts telling you how disappointed he is that you haven't updated your blog. So, I'm uploading some of the pictures on my Blackberry and will use the pictures as my post topics. How 'bout that? Jerks.

Here is Lily. Our ham! This is a poster than is displayed in the girls' classroom, in three different places! As you can see in classroom rule 1, Lily wants you to shut the hell up! :) She's so bossy! Wonder where she gets it. If you look at classroom rule 3, Lily is mid-sleeper hold with her buddy Brielle.

Here are the flowers from Brandon for our 4th wedding anniversary. The colors, for some reason, look odd in this photo, but they are soooooo pretty. We're lame and don't own any vases (well, we might, but they're packed away in boxes if we do!) so they are in a plastic 1 gallon pitcher. Klassy! Thanks for the flowers and cards, babe. I love you!

Here is Ava...home sick! Pneumonia is the pits. This is one snapshot of her sleeping, which she did on and off all day. This resulted in her being bright-eyed and bushy tailed that night, and well into the wee hours of the next morning. Thanks, Brandon, for snuggling with her on the couch.

Here is Ava again. This time, Ava fell and bumped her head at my Mom and Dad's house a few weekends ago. It was a nice little gouge and we thought we'd better go to the ER to have it checked out. All was well and good. She loved the attention.

I sound Midwestern (it's true!)

2008-09-23T12:27:00.002-05:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The South
The West
Philadelphia
North Central
Boston
The Inland North
The Northeast

Sometimes, I feel like this...

2008-09-10T07:56:00.009-05:00

No, not in the sense that I wish I could jump off stuff and look completely silly in my underwear and a "My Little Pony" sparkly t-shirt.

Just in the sense that I am carefree, without stress and worry.

I wish I remembered what that was like. I *think* I felt that way in Canada. Day 2. Still not completely overwhelmed with missing my kids. Still oblivious to the big, hairy, terrifyingly scary bear that would soon be gracing our presence. Still not sick of doing my potty business in the woods. I didn't have to worry about work. The kids were well taken care of. I could just read, rest, relax, enjoy the company of my best friend.

Ah, but back to reality.

Things are weird here at work. Weird meaning that people are dropping like flies and leaving the company. Maybe I don't deal well with change and this is making me uneasy.

The girls aren't really adjusting to their new room at Daycare very well. Today was actually the best day since the big switch. But they still get so upset when I leave. Clinging to me and screaming "MOMMY!" as I walk out of the room. It breaks my heart. And I feel like shit. I hate that they are upset. I know that within five minutes, they are fine and dandy. But I don't see that. I just seeing the sad faces, eyes welled up with tears, little pudgy arms reaching for me as I slip out the door.

It will get better. IT WILL GET BETTER.

I can't wait until the end of October. I'm flying to Omaha to re-connect with some of my best friends in the whole world. I have a feeling I'm really not going to want to leave. Luckily my kids and husband are staying behind, which will...without a doubt...be reason enough to flee Omaha.

That's about all for today. I hereby promise, to my Bef, that I will TRY and be better at updating if she TRIES to get me an updated picture.

xoxo.

Oh, and P.S. RIP JagJag. :(

Mountain Dew Chapstick and cranky kids...

2008-08-27T12:02:00.006-05:00

I never, ever imagined that having the girls' pictures taken would be such a freaking disaster.

Yes. Disaster.

Oh, I know...they look so precious, adorable, smiley, perfect, etc, etc, etc in the picture displayed so proudly to the left of this conflicting text.

Well, it's true. Under that dirty blond colored hair are horns, bright red in color.

Can you see what they are holding? That is Mountain Dew bottle shaped (and tasting) chap stick. Who even knew they made the stuff...but that is what my kids picked out. More of that story to follow...

We started by getting their hair trimmed. Lily did okay, but Ava threw a huge fit. My poor Mom was holding her and it was just tragic. I had to laugh a few times, but I really did feel bad for my Mom.

Then, we had time to kill so we hung out in the little play area in the mall. That ended with us dragging them away, kicking and screaming. I told them we'd find something for them along the way if they would just behave. Bribes always work.

So we stopped into Claire's. Found these Disney Princess purses that they fell in love with. Oh, and the chapstick. Woooonderful.

Fast-forward to outfit changing time and at one point my Mom said, "Why don't we just cancel the appointment, Jeana. There is no way they are going to have their pictures taken today." Kicking. Check. Screaming. Check. Begging for the chapstick which they had spent the previous 15 minutes smearing all over their faces. Check.

But, eventually they calmed down. And we got some okay pictures...but they had to keep that damn chapstick in their hands.

So, after pictures, Mom and I rallied the troops (read: Ava and Lily) and we headed to meet Brandon. He decided that TGIFriday's sounded good, and off we went.

Mac & Cheese makes the twinnies very, very happy. We made 14 million trips to "go potty" even through they only went potty once...or farted. Because they (mainly Lily) are learning "that" feeling. Oh yes. POOPING!

I'm beginning to notice that Ava is going to be the difficult one. God bless her little heart, she just doesn't deal with stuff as well as Lily. Lily is a real "roll with the punches" kind of kid. I love that they have such different personalities.

Oh, and I "accidentally" left it in the restaurant after dinner. Oops.

Starting TurboJam tonight. Will report about my findings tomorrow, if I don't die first.

What have you done?

2008-08-22T12:22:00.002-05:00

What have I done? Bolded lines indicate what I have done.

Bought everyone in the bar a drink
Swam with wild dolphin
Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
Been inside the Great Pyramid
Held a tarantula
Taken a candle lit bath
Said I love you and meant it
Hugged a Tree
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
Seen the Northern Lights
Gone to a huge sports game
Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Grown and eaten your own vegetables
Touched an iceberg
Slept under the stars
Changed a baby’s diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Watched a meteor shower
Gotten drunk on champagne
Given more than you can afford to charity
Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Bet on a winning horse
Asked out a stranger
Had a snowball fight
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Held a lamb
Seen a total eclipse
Ridden a rollercoaster
Hit a home run
Danced like a fool, not caring who watched
Adopted an accent for an entire day
Actually felt happy about your life, even for a moment
Had two hard drives for your computer
Visited all 50 states
Taken care of someone who was too drunk
Had amazing Friends
Danced with a Stranger in a foreign country
Watched wild whales
Stolen a sign
Hitchhiked in Europe
Taken a road-trip
Gone rock climbing
Midnight walk on the beach
Gone sky diving
Visited Ireland
Been heartbroken longer than you were in love
In a restaurant sat at a stranger’s table and ate with them
Visited Japan
Milked a cow
Alphabetized your CDs
Pretended to be a superhero
Sung karaoke
Lounged around in bed all day
Posed nude in front of strangers
Gone scuba diving
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Played in the rain
Gone to a drive-in theater
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
Toured ancient sites
Taken a martial arts class
Played a computer game for more than 6 hours straight
Gotten married
Been in a movie
Crashed a party
Gotten divorced
Gone without food for 5 days
Made cookies from scratch
Won first prize in a costume contest
Ridden a gondola in Venice
Gotten a tattoo
Rafted the Snake River
Been on television news program as an “expert”
Got flowers for no reason
Performed on a stage
Been to Las Vegas
Recorded Music
Eaten shark
Had a one-night stand
Gone to Thailand
Bought a house
Been in a combat zone
Buried one/both of your parents
Been on a cruise ship
Spoken more than one language fluently
Performed in Rocky Horror
Raised Children (well, raising...)
Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
Picked up and moved to another city
Walked on the Golden Gate Bridge
Sang loudly in the car and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
Had plastic surgery
Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have
Wrote articles for a large publication
Lost over 100 lbs
Held someone while they were having a flashback
Piloted an airplane
Petted a stingray
Broken someone’s heart
Helped an animal give birth
Won money on a TV game show
Broken a bone
Gone on an African safari
Had a body part below the neck pierced
Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
Eaten mushrooms gathered in the wild
Ridden a horse
Had major surgery
Had a snake as a pet
Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Slept for more than 30 hours over 48 consecutive hours
Visited more foreign countries than US States
Visited all 7 continents
Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
Eaten Kangaroo meat
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the paper
Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
Gone back to school
Parasailed
Petted a cockroach
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Read the Illiad
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Skipped all of your school reunions
Communicated with someone without sharing a common language
Been elected to public office
Written your own computer language
Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
Had to put someone you love in hospice care
Build your own PC from parts
Sold your own artwork to someone that didn’t know it was yours
Had a booth in a street fair
Dyed your hair
Been a DJ
Shaved your head
Caused a car accident
Saved someone’s life

Prepsters

2008-08-21T07:45:00.010-05:00

My kids can rock the private school kid look like nobody's business. Some notables:

- Ava 's socks are PINK striped. Trust me. They are pink. The lighting must suck or something. Also, it's unfortunate that you can't see the same color of pink on the sweater.

- I agree that the stripes with the Argyle is a bit busy, but damn you Baby Gap for allowing this combo to be sold at all. I trust you and your stylistic outfit options. Curse you all to hell.

- I proceeded to buy 1 pair of pink knee socks, 1 pair of green knee socks, and 2 pair of navy knee socks. The stripes are a no go with the sweater. But solids I think should be okay.

- Did anyone take a second to notice the adorable freaking shoes they have on?!

- Head bands. This is the first time they've worn them. And they love them. But they call them "band heads".

In other news, Brandon and I started P90X. I passed the pre-test which is a big win for me. But, as I was reading through all the material, I came to realize that this program probably isn't for me at all. It states that if you have more than 20 pounds to lose, then you probably want to start with another one of their programs. P90X is more for shaping and definition. That will be perfect for Brandon. Not for me. So I have TurboJam on it's way and will start it as soon as it gets here. Wish me luck.

This weekend, we're going "home" for a local fair. Antique Days. Basically...old people gathering on the town square talking about yesteryear and bitching about how "kids act these days". BUT...I can put all that lame crap aside for BINGO. $5 blackout anybody? Who's kicking some Senior Citizen ass this weekend? This gal!

Google searches that led to my blog:

2008-08-01T07:44:00.003-05:00

1) I am frustrated with my job (oops!)
2) all cool snickers (which led to my Snickers Apple Salad recipe)
3) KIDS BLANKIE
4) picture of cheesecake
5) snickers and granny smith apples (another shout-out for the salad!)
6) vanilla instant pudding (this makes me LOL)

I get a lot of hits from Sarah's site. So thanks for the traffic, hooker!

New video of the girls. Lily singing her ABC's...Ava just gabbing!

Holy buckets (of water)!

2008-07-31T09:42:00.005-05:00

Brandon, the girls and I ventured to a local lake that is currently more than 34 FEET above it's standard pool depth. Brandon and I have fished this lake quite a few times and it's one of Brandon's favorite crappie "holes". Due to the high water, the flood gates on the dam are open...all four of them...and they are releasing in upwards of 54,000 cubic feet of water per SECOND. That translates to about 405,000 gallons of water per SECOND.

Pictures:

"...next time won't you sing with me!"

2008-07-30T07:37:00.005-05:00

Lily was singing her ABC's all the way to school today. 30 minutes worth. I enjoyed every second. Here's how it goes:

Lily: "Aah, bee, ceeeee, deeeeh, eeeeeeeeeee, eff, gee, ache, eye, jah, kah, elle, mmmm, en, ooooh, pee, qu, arrrre, essssssssssssss, tee, ewe, vee, dubble ewe, x, why, and zee. Now I no my Aah Bee Ceeee's, deeeh eeeeeee, eff, gee, next time sing with meeeee!"

Love it. Ava would scream, "Again! Again!".

Also...I have made my deposit to the university and am waiting to hear from the registrar as to what credits transferred in and how long my program will run. I'm reallllly hoping for a year. But I won't be (too) disappointed if it's longer.

We're hoping to be enrolled with the girls in a Parent and Tot swimming course at the local YMCA. First lesson is August 5th. I really, REALLY don't want to get in a swimsuit, but I will for the girls. It will be depressing, I'm almost certain. But I'll deal.

Hmmmm. What else? It's been a really boring past few weeks. As detailed by my phonetic spelling of Lily's ABC sing-a-long.

My new favorite blog!

2008-07-19T09:07:00.005-05:00

The Pioneer Woman!

Oh my gawd! I have already made a list of about 10 recipes that I want to try, 2 of which I will be trying today (if not tomorrow...depending on my husband who is feeling a little bit under the weather).

I know Sarah has this listed on her BlogLinks, but I'd never visited it. Not until yesterday when I asked my homeboard on the Nest, Married Life, what the most fattening dessert they'd ever had was. I have a co-worker who is currently battling Adenocarcinoma in the duodenum. She has hit an all-time low in weight, 85 lbs. This woman isn't much shorter than me, so that would put her at about 5' 9". She visited the office last week to bring treats, as she did find that the tumor has gone down a bit in size. But it's still taking a hell of a toll on her, as she can't possibly eat enough to keep up with what the tumor is stealing from her body. She must eat every 2 hours. This means waking up through the night, eating hot dogs, cheesecake, milkshakes, whatever she can find that is fattening and appeals to her. Poor thing. I can't imagine. Anyway, some of my Nestie friends suggest these apple dumplings from the Pioneer Woman blog. Or cheesecake. So I decided to send her an Eli's Cheesecake gift pack. The same one I sent another friend last year who was fighting cancer. He is now in remission. I sure hope there's some magical healing powers in these Eli's Cheesecakes.

Anyway, I'm going to make the dumplings (which involve TWO sticks of butter and a can of Mountain Dew...clearly an ideal recipe for my husband) this weekend.

And now I must go, before the girls kill each other.

Ava and Lily...enjoying a Saturday morning breakfast of "Loopy Loops" (aka Fruit Loops)

Well, it's the truth!

2008-07-18T08:22:00.001-05:00

Can I get a "HELL YEAH!"

School update!

2008-07-17T12:35:00.002-05:00

After I decided that I wanted to finish my degree, I called the benefits person here at work. It turns out that the hospital has a "loan and forgiveness" program which will basically pay for my schooling. As I work her, my "debt" is repaid at a certain rate based on the number of years I have worked here.

Now, there are no excuses. I've requested all of my transcripts and I think the University has received a few of them. I'm anxious to hear about what will or will not transfer over. I'm hoping that most (if not ALL) of my business credits transfer over. Wouldn't it be great if I could lop off an entire year of the total program time. Yes, yes it would.

The girls and I are meeting my parents and sister-in-law (and her son) for dinner tonight. My Dad is golfing in town today, my Mom is keeping my nephew while my sister-in-law has meetings for work...so the girls and I will just be meeting up with them once we get back in town. Should be a wild night. Brandon is working on his friend Scott's roof, re-shingling.

Not much on tap for the weekend. Brandon will either be working on the shingle job, or working at another side-job he started last weekend.

Kids Picture Post

2008-07-17T12:26:00.005-05:00

Ava - Ornery as ever!

Lily loves her Crocs...she thumbs her nose as fashion snobs everywhere!

My Lily-bear!

"This flower STINKS!"

"I agree, Sis!"

Cheesy!

Serious Lil

Rockin' the two piece

Snap-pops are the best!

Canada Picture Post

2008-07-15T13:22:00.014-05:00

Us

Sunset at camp

Our pilot, Shane and Brandon

Pretty stream leading to the portage

Again...

"Hurry up and get our shit on the plane, thanks!" - Jeana

Shane coming to get us...THANK GOD!

Our little friend...Mr. Squirrel.

Sexy fisherwoman!

Home, sweet, home...er...kind of.

Brandon and his 32 inch Northern Pike.

Holy Crap...a month?!

2008-07-15T09:15:00.002-05:00

Wow. I'm surprised I haven't been verbally lashed out at because of my inability to update my blog! In all fairness, we didn't have Internet at home until this past Saturday, so I'll just use that as my excuse.

The birthday party for Ava and Lily was a blast. They had so much fun. Neither knew exactly what to think about the bounce house, but both decided it was okay to at least sit in once their cousin, Hunter, got in. Lily would do this funny non-bouncing bounce...but Ava just sat there. She enjoyed watching at least. They got tons of nice gifts and had a very nice party. The only bad part of the whole party (which turned out to be fine), was that the bakery FORGOT to make the ladybug cupcakes. FORGOT! Jerks.

The trip...ooooh the trip. The drive up was nice. Brandon and I were both so excited that the time just flew by and before we knew it, we were in Dryden, Ontario. The scenery was beautiful, even though it was raining..all...the...way...up there! We found a nice restaurant, Riverview Lodge, for dinner. The phone book (LOL @ me for doing my restaurant research in the phone book!) said that they offered casual and fine dining. Okay, works for us...as I was dressed in Capri's and a tee with flip-flops, and Brandon in shorts and a tee, flip-flops as well. Well, when we got there, they seated us on the fine dining side. DOH! At first, we were self-conscious because we looked a little scurvy. But, when we looked around we noticed a few others dressed just like us, so we stopped feeling bad and started enjoying our meal!

We got to the air base at 6 am, so we could fly out at 7 am. It was raining and our pilot, Shane, told us that it might be bumpy. I'd taken some motion sickness pills, so I kind of thought everything would be okay in that department. But, alas, about halfway through the trip I was proven to be wrong.

The fishing was great (Fishing Report), but we had one mishap of the furry variety. A bear. On the third morning. On our deck. He knocked over the propane tank of the grill, and licked the sliding glass door. He wandered around camp for awhile, finally settling down at the exit drain from the cabin. I guess he enjoyed the taste of shampoo and dirty dish water. Brandon got a lot on film, but we didn't get any still shots. Finally, after Brandon screamed at him once (which resulted in a "Whateva, Buddy...do you think you're gonna scare ME?" look) he decided to bang some pans together...which was loud enough to scare the bear off. But, the damage had been done. No more trips to the shitter alone for Jeana. No more cooking and creating "smells" and "scraps". I was ruined!

5 days was plenty of time in the wilderness and we were both ready to see the girls. The return trip seemed to go just as fast, luckily. We picked the girls up the following morning and they wouldn't allow us to leave their sight for days!

We've settled into the new house, and are enjoying it immensely.

Work is going...okay. We'll just leave it at that.

I'M GOING BACK TO SCHOOL! I'm very excited and looking to start classes in January 2009.

Other than that, day to day...same old, same old!

Flooding, moving, and venting...

2008-06-16T12:13:00.000-05:00

1) Flooding. The ol' Mississippi is rising and rising. Here's hoping that the levees hold so I don't have to figure out an alternate route to work!

2) Moving. We're moving to the new duplex on Wednesday! Can't wait.

3) Venting. My job just really sucks right now. It's so stressful and it's making me sick. Literally. I was staying home today on PTO because I was so sick last night and still didn't feel good this morning. Well, it never ends up that way and I had phone calls and fires to put out before 8:30 am.

That's really all I've got. Not very funny. Not very interesting. But hey...someday I'll step it back up.

Oh...wait...one thing. Lily is a rockstar and can sing her ABC's. And both girls are kickass because they have transitioned to toddler beds and have made no bones about it. I'm so proud of them. Their big numero dos birthday is this weekend. I can't believe it.

I've been tagged!

2008-06-05T19:46:00.004-05:00

And Sarah is a slut. Okay, okay, just kidding. I haven't updated forever. I suppose it's about time. Or something.

Rules:

Answer the following questions about yourself. At the end of the post you pass on the questions to 6 other bloggers and list their names. Then write them a comment telling them that they've been tagged and ask them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know that you've accepted the challenge and refer to your post.

1. What did you do 10 years ago?
I was 15 years old, so I didn't do much. Not much freedom at that age. That would have made me a...freshman in high school. I played sports, got good grades to apease my parents, and was seeking "true love". Ha ha. At 15! Whatever! I spent my summers Lifeguarding and teaching Red Cross swimming lessons.

2. Five items on your to-do list today:

Bitch out Target for sending me toddler beds that got busted the eff up.

Get some things ready for a visit to our hometown this weekend.

Watch "So You Think You Can Dance" (oh shut up!).

Upload some pictures.

Purchase some M&Ms to use in Operation Potty Train.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Peanut M&Ms, Fresh Fruit, String Cheese

4. What would you do if you were a billionare?
Take care of my family and close friends. Help out people that are less fortunate.

5. Places I would live:
Back in the O-Town, where I am now, Bermuda!

6. Bloggers I am passing the challenge onto:
Kristi, Oscar, Jen, Amy, Jess, and Patty

Shirts!

2008-05-16T10:55:00.006-05:00

Obviously not my kid...but this is what the girls' birthday shirts will look like! Thanks Kristi, for your help!

A wiseguy, eh??

2008-05-16T09:18:00.005-05:00

So, this was given to me today. Ha ha. A Reader's Digest article detailing what to do in the event of a bear attack. Subject heading is highlighted even. Wow. Thanks. There is even a second article which describes how to save yourself in then event that you become lost in the wilderness. I assure you, I will not be getting lost. Why, you may ask? Because my ass will be in one of a few places:

--In the cabin
--In the boat
--In the outhouse

And, we are taking a handheld GPS for the actual "wilderness" part of the trip. The navigational GPS will serve us to arrive safely to base camp.

In the mail, we received part of the birthday party supplies. The balloons...um...I guess I just didn't read closely that they were toddler-sized balloons. No, not balloons the perfect size FOR toddlers. Balloons the size OF toddlers. I'm going to need a HUGE tank of helium. Yikes.

First thing tomorrow, Brandon is to get sand for Ava and Lily's sand table. I can't wait to watch them play for hours and hours in it. They love to get dirty. They are so unlike their mother.

I hope everyone has a most excellent weekend!

Yes...I'm still alive!

2008-05-15T07:24:00.004-05:00

It's true, I swear!

Why can't things ever just be calm, and simple, and not f*cking crazy like they are right now?

The house we rent has sold. No big deal really, luckily we were looking at other options. But that means we'll be moving. Again. God I hate moving. Bright side - we're moving closer to my brother. Second bright side - the house is SO nice. Practically brand new. Quite the step up from our pre-Civil war hole-in-the-ground. But no one likes to move as much as we have. No, we aren't avoiding the IRS. We're just trying to find our niche. And save up for a down payment.

The housing market here sucks. Super sucks, even. I think I finally got the dirt bag realtor to leave us alone. He had pressured us to make an offer on a repo'ed house, playing off the "Wow, I really think we could do a lot of good with this house..." comments Brandon made. He told us that there were "four other strong offers on the table..." and if we were going to have any chance, we'd have to offer asking price, possibly a little over. And we actually considered it. But I had an uneasy feeling about it. We passed. And you know what, that house is still on the market. Hmmm. Funny how that shit works.

Work is beyond crazy. Non-stop. Somehow, I'm to split my time now between the regular departments that I support, plus add in some new stuff. But, I still have lots of "stuff" coming in from my regular departments in the form of report requests, and the like...so half of my 40 hour work week probably won't cut it. I guess this is where the working from home in the evenings bullshit starts. Blech.

I have officially fallen off the South Beach bandwagon. When I'm stressed...it's impossible for me to diet. And I'm stressed. May is half over, and June is so full that I'm not sure how it's all going to work. We'll be moving to the new house, the girls' second birthday party, Canada...and all of that falls in a 2 and a half week span. So, I cure my ills with Burger King for breakfast. I eat a sensible lunch and dinner. But Burger King negates most anything!

Brandon is stressed at work too. Needless to say, our house sort of resembles a minefield in the evenings. Better watch your step because you never know when someone might blow up! :)

The girls are great. Of course. I can't believe how smart they are. I mean, I can believe it. But it's just amazing. They are little sponges. The teachers said they can name all their classmates. They are the only two who can actually do that. They talked on the phone last night to my Mom. They responded when she asked questions. I realize this isn't rocket science, but when you see your child, your baby...talking on the PHONE. It's just weird. They count, too. Not very far, but I'm still proud! And Lily loves to sing, "E-I-E-I-O!"...all the time. The A-B-C song is their second favorite and I sing it to them as we come home from school. By the time I'm saying, "...next time won't you sing with me!" I hear screams of "AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!" from the backseat. I need to count how many times I have to sing that song in the 20 minute commute.

I've started a bad habit. And maybe that is adding to my current mood. But I've been reading a lot of blogs and sites that have sad subjects. And everyone that knows me, knows I tend to shoulder the sadness of everyone around me. So really, how is this a good idea for me? But I can't stop.

My favorite:http://www.mattlogelin.com/

What a strong and amazing man. That little girl is lucky she has such a rockstar Dad.

The Ava and Lily birthday bash - June 21st...it's going to be AMAZING. Now, I realize they are only two. But they are old enough to have a good time and be excited about stuff. So pinatas, bounce houses, ridiculously cute ladybug cupcakes, decorations - including four 35" ladybug balloons and at least 50 other black and red balloons, and accessories, plus custom made t-shirts (with ladybugs, too...of course) are the only way to go. I've already started helping my Mom with the shopping (for birthday presents). They are getting an art center. And I'm just as geeked as they will be. I can't wait to put a new painting on my fridge at least once a week. From us, they'll probably get something far less exciting, and more practical...like a dresser. We're awesome! But hey, the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and everyone else will probably get them enough fun stuff. We'll take the "boring" label. It's okay!

What else...Canada trip in 42 days. If anyone has tips for the following, please leave them in the comments section: Dealing with bears. Holding pee through the night because you are terrified of said bears eating you on the way to the outhouse. Sea planes. Taking off in sea planes. Landing in sea planes. General flight in sea planes. How to deal with missing your kids more than anything in the world. Northern Pike landing and un-hooking. Large bodies of water and one tiiiiiiny boat.

So, there is the update. Not exciting. Not funny. But it's all I've got!

(Sarah - does this mean I can get back on your blogroll?)

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night!

2008-05-03T21:31:00.003-05:00

Check it out, folks...this is how I'm spending my Saturday night! Brandon is crashed out in his chair. I'm cuddled up with the laptop (preparing to do some work on a server at 11 pm), and then girls have been in bed for over 2 hours.

Today was my nephew Preston's first birthday. Holy craziness. It was quite the brew-ha-ha and I'm glad I didn't have to do much. He didn't know exactly what he should do with the huge cake my sister-in-law made for him. And he was even less impressed when she smashed some in his hair. The girls had a big time and didn't nap all day. By the time we got home they were so tired that their bath was a fight from start to finish and they were practically dragging US upstairs to their beds. Hopefully they'll get a good nights rest, as tomorrow we're going to be out and about again, as Brandon helps one of our friends finish putting siding up on his house.

56 days until we go to Canada. I ordered a Garmin GPS system with the remainder of my birthday money. I'm really excited about it. It does a lot more than give you directions. It does have the full text-to-speech feature which is awesome. It also will Bluetooth to our cell phones so we can have hands-free talking.

Other than that, I have picked up a new project at work. I'm doing some configuration work for the hospital's patient record system. It's a lot more interesting that writing Crystal Reports. I'm not sure how my two current departments feel about my branching out, but I'm fairly certain that they really don't have that much say in it. I have to do what my boss tells me to. I am excited though, to test drive some new laptops in the next few months.

Brandon's 10 year class reunion is coming up, too. I think it's the weekend we return from our fishing trip. Must.be.in.shape.before.then.

Also, we have a wedding in July. It will probably be the wedding reception of all wedding receptions in my po-dunk hometown.

Mother's Day is next weekend. I'm not expecting anything. Honestly. Well...maybe just a card. Consider this your friendly reminder to at least send your Mother a card. Yes. You. Send a damn card. :)

Bananas Foster

2008-04-29T14:35:00.002-05:00

Bananas Foster

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 bananas, sliced thin
Vanilla ice cream

Melt butter in skillet. Once melted, add in brown sugar and whisk until sugar has dissolved. Next, add in cinnamon and nutmeg, then half and half. Continue to whisk for 1-2 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Add in bananas and turn off heat. Scoop ice cream into serving bowls and spoon bananas and sauce over the ice cream.

(Photo comes from Brennan's Restaurant in the French Quarter in N.O. where bananas foster was invented. I hear that the REAL DEAL in N.O. is spectacular. I hope to someday try it!)

Tuesday!

2008-04-29T14:26:00.004-05:00

I had my six month evaluation at work today. I got excellent remarks and a lapel pin! Woot woot!

"Good Luck Chuck", while a little juvenile and filled with boobies...was pretty cute and funny.
I'm trying to be better about being "green"...but reading about Lunapads and the like really make me gag.
Poison ivy...still itches.
Something like...59 days...until we leave for Canada. I'm really starting to get excited.
I made Bananas Foster last night and it was wonderful. Recipe to follow.
Ava has started getting very upset when I leave in the morning from daycare. Lily...she's fine. Runs off, starts terrorizing the kids. But Ava CLINGS to me and screams, "No Mommy! I wuv you! No go bye bye! No Mommy"...break my freaking heart. Yesterday, I could hear her outside of the building. I hope this is just a phase and that it ends quickly.

It's been awhile...

2008-04-28T19:00:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah...STFU Sarah. Not everyone leads such an exciting and blog-worthy filled life like YOU.

Anyway. Now that I got that out of the way.

1) Brandon is at the grocery store picking up the necessities for my wonderful bananas foster served a la mode. I know you are jealous. Deal with it.

2) I have poison ivy all over my person. All over. I'm none too excited about it. It is a direct result of either my husband's inability to keep his paws off me or my sucky army crawling skills, through many yards of timber and mud. While I wish I could say it was the former...I'm certain it was actually the latter. I did get a turkey, and I plan on eating the bastard tomorrow night.

3) After I make the bananas foster, we'll be watching "Good Luck Chuck". I fully expect it to be raunchy and stupid.

4) I really want to start working on the girls' second birthday party. I know how stupid that is, as it's only the end of April. But come on...who doesn't love a party?!

5) I've been eating terribly! BUT, I haven't gained a pound back. Back on South Beach starting tomorrow! Really, I eased back into it today and had terrible caffeine headaches. But then someone brought it cookies and I have the willpower of Star Jones (pre-stomach shrinkage) next to a cake buffet. I ate a good, South Beach friendly lunch, and then was okay with dinner. But now...the bananas foster. Oh well. P90X starts soon! (How long have I been saying that?!)

That's about all for now...but I'll try and be better about updating! :p

Long time, no update!

2008-04-20T19:51:00.002-05:00

Work has been a crazy freaking mess...so this Sunday evening, as I sit in the recliner...kids in bed, husband staying at his Mom's in preparation for opening day of Spring Turkey Season, I have found time to update!

The conference was good. I was ready to get home and see the girls though. And Brandon.

Other than that, it's been fairly quiet. I'll try to be better about my updates. This was just really to let everyone know I hadn't forgotten about them!

:)

Yay Friday!

2008-04-11T13:10:00.003-05:00

1) I'm in an outer office upgrading the Internet connections. I have spent my whole day just jacking around. It's been nice.

2) I leave for KC tomorrow and I've heard it is supposed to snow there? WTF?!

3) We had some severe weather in the area last night. In fact, in the town I'm authoring this post from, a tornado touched down. Riddle me this...the location that it touched down at just happened to be the farm belonging to an actively dying Hospice patient. The family had to leave the poor man in his hospital bed (because he's unconscious) and run to the basement to protect themselves. The house was relatively untouched, but the remainder of the outbuildings were destroyed, as well as some of their livestock were lost. Now...why them? This man is hours to days away from his last breaths, and his family is having to deal with all of that. Now, on top of the sadness and grief of losing a loved one, they have to clean up from a tornado?! To say life is often unfair just doesn't cut it.

4) My Dad called me this morning and was so excited to tell me that he purchased a half-off gift certificate for a party rental place and one of their "bounce houses". He wants it for the girls' birthday party. How awesome is he?! The girls will be in Heaven.

5) I'm going to miss my daughters and husband so freaking much this weekend. I'm starting to get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. He'll be fine, and the girls will be fine. It's ME that I worry about.

6) Michael Johns should NOT have been voted off American Idol last night. This is almost worse that Chris Daughtry's early exit.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I bet you all thought I was dead...

2008-04-09T08:06:00.002-05:00

But I'm not! P90x didn't come until yesterday...so THIS might be my last entry! Brandon read through the intro manual last night and then he seemed almost...discouraged. GREAT! If he's already doubting himself, I'm a goner.

I wish I had something funny or exciting to share. But, truth be told, work is a complete cluster with my having to do a bunch of work on laptops, Internet connections, and other tasks that keep me running non-stop. Top that off with some drama going on at daycare and I just find it hard to be witty and entertaining. I'm sure you all forgive me.

I am currently engaged in the battle of all battles in DaycareLand. I pay what I consider to be a lot of money for the girls to attend a top-notch daycare. And to be honest, until now...it has well been worth it. Not to sound overly braggy, but I've got smart kids. I know they aren't as intelligent as they are simply because of Brandon and I. They get a lot of good things from that daycare. Here's the problem right now, though. They have too many kids. Due to this, my kids (and about 6 other children) fall on this "cusp" of age ranges and must attend an "overflow" room. This room isn't really a classroom, because it's housed in an activity room that is supposed to be used for rainy days, when the kids can't go outside and play. That isn't even the part that bugs me. The part that pisses me off...there are no lead teachers or teacher coordinators in the room. Instead, they have "float" aides who aren't assigned to any certain room and just move around (hence the term "float") to different groups as needed.

This is a big problem with Momma Bear. Lead teachers are required to set a weekly lesson plan and follow curriculum. These floats aren't. And don't. So the kids run around like wild banshees all day. Last Friday, Lily came home with bite marks on her arm. Biting happens and I'm the first parent to acknowledge that. BUT! BUT! I should get notified when my kids are bit, and per state law, I have to sign an accident report. Neither of those two things happened. I kind of brushed it off. But, Monday...as I'm picking up the girls I walk in to find Ava following one teacher and she was crying. Once Ava saw me, she ran and grabbed on to me. Poor baby! The teacher then says, "I don't know WHAT her problem is!" Um, excuse me?! It was pure pandemonium from then on out. Once we got home, and I was getting the girls ready for bed, I noticed that Lily had yet another bite mark on her back...this one much worse than the one on her arm from the previous week.

Needless to say, I flew off the handle a bit (internally of course) and drafted an email with the subject: Concerns, to the director.

I have been going back and forth with her since then. And, it looks like I just might have made some progress. The past two days, the girls have been in room 5.

I'll keep at 'em to make sure my girls get what I think they deserve! Who knew daycare was such a cut-throat business.

This might be my last entry...

2008-04-07T11:58:00.001-05:00

Because it would appear that our P90X system should arrive today.

That means Brandon will want to try it tonight.

That means, by all accounts, I'll be dead by 9 pm, Central Standard Time.

The Weekend!

2008-04-06T21:34:00.007-05:00

Friday:
I got to leave work early! Brandon and I met for lunch at one of our favorite places, Kelly's. We had a nice, quiet, leisurely lunch before running some errands and picking the girls up from school. It was so nice out that once we got home, Brandon and the girls stayed out while I threw the stuff for dinner in the crockpot. I went back out to snap some photos of the girls playing with sidewalk chalk and their Daddy.
Saturday:
Shopping Trip to STL! Brandon's Mom and Step-Dad met us at our house and we were at Cabela's by around 10 am (I think!). Brandon had this list that must have been 3 miles long...all in preparation for our Canadian Fishing Trip. I did pick out some kickass lures. I'm so good at that stuff. Colors are my thang. Brandon will be crying when I'm slaying the Walleye, and he's getting no bites. Who am I kidding...that won't happen. Plus, if he refuses to take the fish off my line, I won't be catching many fish anyway since I won't be taking my own fish off. We left Cabela's and hit Old Navy. I got the girls the cutest swimsuits EVAR! For some reason, I can't find them online, so I will be taking pictures tomorrow night (or at least trying). And last, but hardly least...I found my favorite wine at a "Missouri Mercantile" shop that carries a ton of local wines. I bought two bottles! :)
Sunday:
We spent the day with my parents, then finally made it home around 4 pm. The girls played outside some more while I put away grocery items. Not much exciting happened after that. Just the run of the mill Sunday evening. Preparing for the week ahead. I do have to say that I am really excited to set up my new Rolodex. Oh yes, office supplies get my goat!

Underbrinks!

2008-04-02T09:25:00.002-05:00

And my day just got better!

Underbrinks Angel Food Cupcakes!

Now...go wipe the drool off your chin!

Random-o-rama for April 2nd

2008-04-02T08:00:00.005-05:00

1) Today is day three for me of wearing the SAME outfit for work (Relax people...I've washed it each night!). With all the weight loss, I only have one pair of khaki pants that fit...and I had to buy them just for the "occasion". I don't feel like spending too much money on pants that hopeful won't fit for much longer. The only nice thing about wearing a predetermined outfit every day of an entire week is that I really don't have to think about getting dressed in the morning.

2) Ava slammed her head into mine last night while doing some freaky-deaky dancing to American Idol. The back of her head slammed into my forehead and I now have a dent on my face. Awesome. It's hurts like a motherskank.

3) I made Bananas Foster last night for dessert at my brother's house. He invited us over for dinner. It's kind of a tradition to watch at least one night of American Idol together. Anyway, back to dessert. I'm fairly certain that the Bananas Foster went straight to my ass. But it was SO good!

4) We're going to price a home tonight. Here is a picture of what we're looking at:

5) Ava and Lily love the word "boogie". And they are not talking about dancing, people. They are talking about actual boogers. If they feel like their noses are crusty, they'll come up to you and say, "Boogie? Boogie?" When they do this in public, I get pretty embarrassed.

6) Is it Friday yet?

Oh Hail!

2008-03-31T15:29:00.001-05:00

I am working from home today. I've been sick since Friday night. I was working and ate a piece of Pizza that they had brought in, and by a few hours later I was sick as hell and just wanted to curl up and die. I thought it was the Pizza, but here I sit, 2 days later, still sick.

Yesterday was terrible. We went to Mom and Dad's...basically so Brandon would have help with the girls. I slept the whole time.

I'm feeling a little better this morning. I just did for the first time since Friday night (I don't count the handful of oyster crackers I ate yesterday). Cinnamon toast. It was good.

It hailed here at like 7:30 this morning. See picture.

Back to work.

And if you could...

2008-03-28T13:00:00.002-05:00

Please pray for this woman, and her husband...who lost their twins at 23 weeks gestation due to placental abruption:

http://bustedbabymaker.blogspot.com/

The pain, grief, and loss this family is experiencing right now is at a level that I cannot even comprehend.

You want me to wear what?!

2008-03-28T12:19:00.003-05:00

See that "thing" around my neck...the plasticy-PVC looking thing. It almost looks like tubing from the ventilation system of a fish tank. Yes. That is a "necklace". It flashes, but it's impossible to see that in the picture. I guess it came from Disney World, of all places.

Why, you ask, would I have to wear such a childish, silly necklace (especially at work)?

It's "go-live" weekend, folks! Which means everyone acts especially retarded! When implementing an upgrade, lots of people are involved and coordinate what we wear, do, say, think, breathe...case in point:

In addition to the fabulous necklaces, we also have NAVY blue polo shirts with the hospital logo on them to wear around during the weekend and following week. With khakis. And tennis shoes (since we'll be walking all over the hospital).

Tech people CAN have fashion sense, you know....

Oh, and FYI...I took the necklace off about .5 milliseconds after I snapped the photo. I think I'll "accidentally" toss it out the window on the way home.

My husband wants to kill me...

2008-03-27T11:24:00.003-05:00

Okay, not really. He doesn't want to kill me...let me explain.

It would seem that my husband, the love of my life, is just as susceptible to informercials as I am. But, instead of Pancake Puff Pans and magic cleaning solutions, he spies a "complete workout solution".

Siiiiiiiiiiigh.

My husband doesn't need to lose weight. He's PERFECT. But he feels that he needs to get "ripped" again. Mmmmm...Oh, anyway, I digress. He wants the body back that he used to have, when he was in sports and the like. Hell, honey...I'd like my high school body back, too. We BOTH remember when I was a lifeguard and had a six-pack that you could break eggs on. DEPRESSING. Let's not go there.

So listen to this. P90X means Power 90x. 90 equals the number of days this system runs. I suppose you could stretch it out (God, let's hope). You're are SUPPOSED to work out for one hour a day, 7 days a week. Hold on...that's like, one hour less than a full work day. Jesus.

There are 12 different workouts (each with their own DVD) which includes: Chest and Back, Plyometrics, Shoulders and Arms, Yoga X, Legs an Back, Kenpo X, X Stretch, Core Synergistics, Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, Back and Biceps, Cardio X, and Ab Ribber X.

Ab Ripper? [explicative deleted]

Why all the X's? Who are they trying to scare? (If it's me, it's working...)

You also get a calendar (so you can track your torture...I mean...progress) and some kind of nutritional guide.

So once I get past the, "Oh my God I will absolutely keel over and die" sentiments flowing through my mind, I start to think, "Hey...it wouldn't be a bad thing really!" I need exercise. If Brandon can be my partner and motivation, that would be fantastic.

Plus, (and hopefully this isn't my only motivation) I know Brandon would do awesome at it, and be totally rockin' after the 90 days. I, obviously, need to be in good shape and be packing some serious muscle to beat bitches down when they look at him.

:) Wish me luck! I'll need it!

"It's gonna be a good day..."

2008-03-26T07:26:00.001-05:00

And this is why...

1) As I'm unloading the girls at school (I got rockstar parking, by the way, which rarely happens! Right under the awning, so I didn't have to stress about chasing them all over the place, corralling them into the door...) one of the parents walking out said, "You do so well with two kids. You're amazing. And they are lucky little girls to have such an awesome Mommy." Awwww! Then Ava screams, "AWESOME!" They didn't dilly-dally too bad down the hallway to their classroom and I got big hugs and sloppy kisses without any fussing that I was leaving. Ahhhhh...

2) I'm sitting at my desk, drinking my diet Pepsi and had just finished my breakfast of string cheese. Weighed myself this morning, no change. That's not bad considering I haven't been eating the best anyway. A co-worker stops at my office door to tell me that I'm looking "skinny" and "very healthy". She said she really noticed how thin my face looked yesterday, and just how much better I look. At this point, my ego is doing quite well this morning.

3) We found our "dream house". It's out of our price range, currently. But, we hope we can offer them less, and that Brandon will get this new job and we'll definitely be able to swing it. If I hear back from the bank today, I'd love to set up a showing this weekend.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. But...I'd say that's a good start to a Wednesday.

FREEZE FRAME!

2008-03-25T19:39:00.010-05:00

Randomness for March 25th

2008-03-25T07:55:00.003-05:00

1) A post on the Nest (Omaha board) was asking for suggestions of what to fill a diaper bag with, for a shower gift. I'm sitting here trying to recall all the stuff we have shoved in the diaper bag. I'm pretty sure that I over-pack 99.9% of the time. Q-tips. I kept Q-tips in the diaper bag when the girls were younger. They seem to be prone to boogery noses. And I have this phobia about boogers in noses in public. My poor kids...before I even unstrap them from their car seats, I'm picking at their noses to make sure their "caves" are "bat free". In fact, I just Googled "fear of boogers"...because I wonder if I don't have some sort of illness. I know I have aracnophobia (fear of spiders)...but maybe there's a boggerophobia I don't know about.

2) Brandon's second interview is in an hour. I'm about ready to puke, I'm so nervous. Good ol' Mickey D's for breakfast was a bad choice, given my current emotional state.

3) Lily pitched the biggest fit ever yesterday at daycare when I got there to pick them up. She would not let me put her coat on. I have never been that frustrated in my life. And embarrassed. But I still insisted we go out for dinner to TGIFriday's. Boy am I stupid.

4) IBS Lady is on vacation all this week. I sure haven't missed the joyous sounds of her blowing ass 4 times a day.

5) We're submitting our passport applications today. For whatever reason, I'm very nervous about it.

I think that's about all for now. We are hoping to schedule some house viewings this weekend. We're ready to get that show on the road!

Easter Update 2008

2008-03-24T19:40:00.017-05:00

1) The girls were heathens in church. Absolute heathens. Screaming, crying, being just about as obnoxious as they could possibly be. They even started screaming, "BITE! BITE! BITE!" in the middle of Silent Prayer time. Nice timing girls. I didn't bring enough Care Bear Gummies.

then...

2) Lunch was kind of a cluster. We went to a buffet style restaurant, and the girls just would not cooperate. We ate as fast as we could and loaded them up to head to the next Easter event. This guaranteed at least a 40 minute "nap" (if you could even call it that) on the car ride there. Praise Jesus. Looks like my Silent Prayer was answered.

and...

3) Easter with Brandon's family...So much fun. So relaxing. So not like having to confine your 21 month old twins to a pew or chair in a restaurant. Grandma Sherri had a special Easter Egg hunt just for the kids. Then the egg hunt for the BIG kids (read: everyone else). Sherri stuffed 155 eggs, and hid them all around the farm. One hundred fifty-five eggs. All of them had candy, some had little slips of paper, and some had quarters. The slips of paper coordinated with neat little prizes...like chamois towels, kitchen whisks, basting brushes, flashlights and a ton of other "grab bag" type things.

And now...the moment you've all been waiting for! Pictures!

Looking pretty in our dresses...

Every girl needs Farm Boots!

Egggggs!

Great news!

2008-03-24T08:13:00.005-05:00

Brandon got a second interview! It's tomorrow morning and we couldn't be more excited. Keep thinking good thoughts!

I'll do an Easter update post sometime! I've got oodles of pictures that I need to get off my camera first!

Truly. Blessed.

2008-03-21T10:29:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, when you get so busy with the hubbub of your daily life, we often forget to think about just how truly blessed we are.

I am truly blessed. See picture above for reference. Kristi - you're the best friend I could ever ask for and you know me better than most. I opened the box, then the other box, then ripped through the tissue paper and saw the silver box with red ribbon and then, "GASP!".

"Borsheims? What in the world did she do?!" I thought.

Once I opened the box, and I was verklempt. Speechless. Stunned. I'm not sure there is a more perfect gift in the whole wide world for me.

It's hard to see in the picture, but there are two sterling silver pendants on the necklace. One reads "Truly". The other, "Blessed".

And I am. Very much so.

So, thank you Kristi. I love you soooo much!

I'll see your Nutella, and raise you a cheesecake!

2008-03-20T19:48:00.004-05:00

This is for YOU Sarah!

I have the coolest friends!

1) Jen sends me a message, with her singing me Happy Birthday. It was freaking awesome. Jen, you're a great singer. American Idol is calling your name. I'd totally vote for you. And LOL @ you stopping at a green light. You're a dork, but that's why I love ya!

2) Veronica. Veronica, Veronica, Veronica! You spoil me. I have picture evidence:

Do you see that?! Freaking Eli's Cheesecake, on a Popsicle stick, then dipped in yummy chocolate. They are frozen, and probably the best thing I've ever eaten. For sure. I sent an Eli's Cheesecake care package to Veronica and her wonderful husband Ray while he was going through treatments for his cancer. He's a sweet food lover, and I thought what better time than during such grueling medical procedures that often rob you of your appetite to indulge on some of the finest cheesecake in the world! She raved and raved about the Dippers. And now, I know first hand just why she did that.

3) Kristi. I didn't get to FedEx to pick up my package today. But I'm doing it tomorrow. And I know you'll get your own post dedicated to how full of awesomeness you are.

Everyone...send good thoughts to Brandon. His interview is tomorrow. I know he'll do wonderful. Pray pray pray! They'll love him, I just know it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-03-19T09:04:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Anna and Jen for the birthday drawings! You're guys are the best!

I'm frustrated with my job today...

2008-03-18T14:20:00.003-05:00

So I'm going to blog. That always seems to make me feel better.

When I came into this job, I replaced a woman who worked here less than 6 months. She basically came in, half-ass learned the ropes, then cut and run when she couldn't handle it. I admit, it's high stress sometimes, and demands hella hours. I spend many a-night working from home, or even signing in on weekends.

So, the woman that SHE replaced had to re-train me (after training the woman who quit). A lot of things seemed to get "misplaced", forgotten about, or the like. I mean, it wouldn't be hard. You hand off all your tasks to one person, who then turns around and quits...only to have to re-tell ANOTHER person what you told the previous one about 180 days ago!

Today, I get an email from the director of the department (Read: Big Wig!) and it appears that a project was one of the casualties of this employee-swapping-song-and-dance. It had kicked off when the person I replaced was preparing to leave. Between the time she departed, and the time that I came in, nothing happened with it. I'd been here a few weeks, and helped send off a file that this analysis company needed, but like I knew what it was for (and was never told what it was for)...

Fast-forward to today, and the director wants details of what the hell is going on with this engagement. Oh lord. And you know what, selling anyone up the river was my last concern. I couldn't help but think how bad this could make ME look. I believe I'm in the "clear"...or at least lets hope so. But that doesn't get me out of adding another project to my workload. Ay yi yi!

In other news, Ava Grace is now a big girl. She pooped on the big girl potty last night, and then peed in it this morning. I was jumping around like an idiot. Who would have thought that human excrement could ever be THIS exciting. Or, that I could feel such a sense of pride from the fact that my daughter shit in a bowl. But, alas, I do feel proud. And I will continue to dance around like an idiot and wave "bye bye" to the poop and pee as it goes blissfully down the toilet, and I no longer have to deal with diapers.

Wait...I'm getting ahead of myself. Obviously, we aren't done with diapers. But one step closer is alright in my book.

Lily Rae...oh my dearest Lily. She showed interest in the potty chair first. "Mommy, I poot" she'd proclaim, when in fact, she had pooped in her diaper! She loved to sit on the potty chair, clothed; dismantle the chair and carry around the bowl; and use it as a stepping stool. But the child has the patience of her father (ha ha ha, Honey! Love you!) and once she saw the celebration after her big sister did "the business" in the potty, I could almost read her mind. Immediately, she wanted to sit, naked as a jaybird...just like sissy, on the potty chair. But she could NOT keep her butt on the seat for longer than a few seconds without hopping up in a fury, turning in a flash, and peering into the bowl to see what goodies she'd have! The look on her face was priceless, with each check...disappointment. Confusion. Concern. Disgust. "WHY DON'T I HAVE ANYTHING IN MY BOWL?!" She'd sit down in a huffy, pissed off manner for another 3-5 seconds and the same thing would happen. Up quickly, turning so fast she'd almost fall down, and NOTHING.

Eventually, she gave up. I imagine the thoughts running through her mind are like this...

"Well, I guess my potty chair is broken. I'll just steal Sissy's next time".

I hate Mondays...

2008-03-17T08:10:00.008-05:00

I really do. There is nothing great about a Monday, unless it's the start of a vacation week. And this, unfortunately, is NOT a vacation week for me.

Random numero uno: While playing 4-point pitch this weekend, I decided that it's probably the most IRRITATING thing in the world to play cards with someone who doesn't know what the f*ck they are doing. Having to pause each time around the table so we could explain/coach/help out someone really defeats the purpose of the game. Very, VERY irritating.

Random numero dos: I totally forgot it was St. Patrick's Day. I did, however, luckily include some green in my wardrobe by accident. And the girls insisted on wearing their new Camo Crocs...well, they aren't "Crocs"...they are Skechers whatever-knock-off-brand. But they are damn cute:So what if they are technically a boy's shoe. Do I LOOK like I care?! I was a tomboy, I'm certainly okay with my daughters following suit.

Random numero tres: My brother got me a $20 lottery ticket for my birthday. I won $40 on it! Woot woot! Then, like a dumbass, I used that $40 to buy 2 more tickets (greedy, greedy!) and lost it all. I'm a sucky gambler.

Random numero quatro: I got my hairs cut on Friday. Like the first haircut in a long, long, long time. I'm still kind of "eh" about it. I took a picture (by the way, I share a "window" with a woman...she must think I'm the biggest retard ever...because I took 3 billion photos of my hair). It's in a low-ponytail. Nice, huh? Let's hope that I can learn to do something with it other than this. Comments welcome, but only of the positive persuasion.

Friday Randomness

2008-03-14T12:16:00.005-05:00

1. I'm not Catholic, and I don't care for fish. But, I think everyone else in this hospital IS Catholic, and so lunch selection on Friday's has really sucked lately, thanks be to Lent.

2. Just because I'm not Catholic, doesn't mean I don't love Catholics. Just wanted to clear that up. I love Catholics. I just don't like fish.

3. Kristi still hasn't updated her blog. She's a freaking slacker.

4. House hunting is kind of at a standstill. We need to get our pre-approval paperwork submitted. I'm in no big rush because the inventory of "buyable" homes in the area we are searching is L-O-W.

5. There is a city-wide garage sale in our town in April. It's on the day I might be leaving for a users conference for work in Kansas City. I'm bummed. I want to offload our massive stacks of shit on someone. And get money in return. Consignment is too much work.

6. It's a frickin' race for new vehicles in my department. One girl got a new SUV, and within 24 hours of telling co-workers, two other co-workers are now trading in their cars. I'm glad I don't give a shit. They started comparing payments and all I could do was roll my eyes. Now, they are discussing the benefits of cloth vs leather interiors. They both prefer cloth. Less skin to leather sweat and stick factor.

7. While sitting on the loo, I though..."Wouldn't it be fun to have an advice blog?" People could leave questions in the form of comments anonymously, and I could answer them the next day. I think it would be a blast! The fact that I was sitting on the toilet is really irrelevant to this story. But it's certainly more random if I include it.

That is all, for now!

My offspring are smart!

2008-03-13T07:40:00.005-05:00

I mean, you knew that already, but anyway! Yesterday we had Parent Teacher conferences at daycare and then the Parents As Teachers person came over in the evening for a visit. The girls are hitting (or surpassing) all marks developmentally and they say well over the number of words a 20 month old should be able to say.

I'm very relieved that they did not say any bad words while the PAT lady was there. I mean, daycare has been witness already to the potty mouths my children have. I want the woman who reports back to the school district my children will probably enroll in to have a better impression of them!

Let's see...they can stack blocks (6 and 7 high!), identify body parts (even their elbows...random, much?), play well with others and have very caring demeanor (if another kid cries at school, they are sometimes the first ones to rush over and offer comfort), they can walk, run, and climb without falling (most of the time!), and lastly...they are artistic little farts and I think I'll sell their paintings on eBay!

In other news...House. Well, even though we liked that house, our reasonable side tells us it might be a smidge too small. So, we're going to more forward with our pre-approval for financing and see what other properties there are. Why can't we just stumble upon a 3 or 4 bedroom, 2 bath home built in the 40's-80's that is in nice condition but just needs updating? I mean, come on! It's can't be THAT HARD! :)

Oh, and I think Kristi is a sucky blogger who never updates her site. Amy's not far behind her. Thank Gawd I've got Sarah.

I apologize...

2008-03-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

For not updating yesterday. It was a crazy-busy day at work! I got a ton done, and then started surfing some realtor websites. I came across this super cute house, small, but very affordable. Of course, we rent right now and the rental was being shown by the owners to a possibly interested purchasing party. I reaaaaaaaally don't want to move to another rental house, because that would mean moving again after that! It's just not ideal, but if need be...we'd do it.

We went and looked at it last night and it's in great shape, and while it's small (2 bedrooms and 1 bath) it has a ton of potential and it's just downright cozy.

Oh, and Brandon got a call-back from the hospital and he's got an interview next Friday. Eeeee!

Yesterday was a busy, busy day for us!

"Bankie? Bankie?! BANKIE!!"

2008-03-10T13:16:00.001-05:00

Most know how attached the girls are to their blankets (known as "Silkies", "Blankies", "Lovies"). they are essential for naptime, bedtime, or anytime they feel tired/sad/sick/upset/cuddly.

Yesterday, as we were getting ready to leave from the family gathering...Ava went into a panic, saying "Bankie? Bankie?"

She's searching high and low (well, as high as she can search I suppose) and she just can't find it. I knew where it was. I'd placed it on a stack of stuff to take with us.

Her panic grew, and eventually she started saying louder, "Bankie?! Bankie?!"

Once the now louder shouts grew to full on screams, I handed her the blanket, and she giggled.

She did it again this morning, but with less panic in her voice. She knew where it was, but just wanted to let US know that she was looking for it.

It's so damn cute.

Snickers, apples, and cool whip?

2008-03-09T20:00:00.003-05:00

We had a family get-together today to celebrate all the birthdays in March. One of the dishes I was very skeptical of. As the title of this post says, it contains Snickers, apples, and cool whip. I assure you, it was quite wonderful.

Here ya go:

Snicker Apple Salad

16 oz container of Cool Whip
1 box French Vanilla Instant Pudding
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 large Granny Smith apple, just diced (leave peel on)
6 Snickers Candy Bars, diced

Mix Cool Whip and Instant Pudding. Add in diced apples. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Add candy bars right before serving.

Finally Friday...

2008-03-07T09:59:00.002-06:00

So we had dinner with my brother Jake, his wife Tiffany, and their son Preston yesterday. I'd been home all day because daycare called at 9:30 am to let me know Lily was running a fever. So I said screw it, picked up both girls, and headed home. Jake was adamant that we come over for dinner, despite the possibility that Lily was sick.

Dinner was wonderful. Grilled steaks and potatoes, green beans...yum! While we were eating, it came to our attention that Jake had sustained an injury while preparing our food! Some juices from the steaks dripped and caused a flare-up, singeing his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes!

I wish I'd had my camera available...because that picture would have certainly been blogworthy!

Happy Friday everyone! Here's hoping that I'm out of here at a decent time. Me thinks that might not happen. Our servers have already crashed once. An unstable network is never a computer programmer's friend.

Ah yes!!

2008-03-06T21:37:00.001-06:00

Doesn't get any more perfect than THAT!

Do I LOOK like a numbers person?

2008-03-06T08:06:00.009-06:00

I mean, really? Do I?

I'll set up your Crystal Reports, and make sure they connect to the database a-okay...but as far as comparing payments posted in a freaking general ledger report to what is posted on the report you request...

REALLY?!

This is what I'm perplexed with this morning. And when I encounter something that I wholeheartedly SUCK at, I tend to push it aside. I'm a computer programmer, or systems analyst, or any other geeky, techy name you want to call me. But I am not an accountant...or good with numbers.

Also, a co-worker has been out sick all week. Well, since last Friday actually. She's back today and she said she still doesn't feel good. To top that off...she's being a royal beeeeeyotch. I asked if she was feeling better and she snapped at me. Niceness from Jeana ends right...about...THERE. In fact, I just heard her say..."I.Hate.My.Job"! Attitude is everything, lady!

In other news...my birthday is coming up. The big 2-5! Here is my birthday list!

A docking radio for my XM receiver. Right now, my XM radio stays in my car....and it doesn't do me much good in there. I would love to listen to Dr. Laura bitch and moan at the weirdos that call her show during the day. Somehow, I think that would make me feel better about myself.

The Clarisonic face care system. I've heard it makes your skin just to-die-for. I'm pretty terrible about taking care of my skin. I have hopes that if I had something like this...I would do better. I'll hate myself in 50 years when I'm a wrinkly old prune.

And finally, a Tom Tom GPS device. Don't really NEED this...but I think it might just save my husband's life on the way to Canada this summer.

Today's randomness will include...

2008-03-05T14:15:00.004-06:00

1. I hate when I try new recipes and they flop. The one last night was totally sucky. Like, Ava made this, "Oh my gawd Mom! Why are you even feeding this to us?" face. And, it smelled wonderful and looked tasty. Balls.

2. I have to pee, but because I'm posting this blog and hesitated, IBS lady beat me to the potty. So, if you're reading this...I hope you're happy. It's all your fault. Yes, you...YOUR FAULT.

3. I want to know who replaced all the regular spoons with soup spoons in our breakroom. Can they possibly comprehend how hard it is to eat my Jell-O with an effing soup spoon? Well, let me tell you...it's not easy.

4. Tonight is "breakfast for dinner" night and I'm irrationally excited about it. It's quick. It's easy. The girls love it. And who doesn't love waffles and bacon?

5. I've lost 20 lbs. TWENTY POUNDS! I'm so geeked about this. I do realize, however...that I've got a long way to go. But I think that's a pretty rockin' milestone. Then I think, "Hey, dumbass...if you would have found time to exercise, who knows how much more you could have lost..." Dangit.

6. Danny Noreaga needs to go. NEEDS.TO.GO!

Those Kleenex commercials...

2008-03-04T14:57:00.002-06:00

You know the ones, the "Kleenex Let It All Out" commercials.

I get teary eyed just watching the commercials. That sweet guy in his sweater, listening to these people open their hearts and spill the beans about whatever they've been holding in. Heck, they even show the sweet sweater guy wiping his eyes.

Anyway, I know that if I did one of those commercials...I'd be a blubbering, snotty damn mess. I hold everything in. At least until it comes exploding out when Brandon looks at me the wrong way. I suppose I need to find a better way of dealing with the stressors and hard spots in my life. I'm pretty sure that this new job has brought me to the maximum point of stress that I have ever been at in my life. It is just so demanding and never ending.

A huge bonus of my job, though...the daycare center. Man is that place wonderful. It is almost worth all the crap I go through, just to know that my daughters are getting a wonderful education early in their lives.

The bad part - I think it's having a negative effect on my health. I'm so tired, that whole fainting incident...and I don't have a follow up until April for that. I know stress can do weird things to your body, but a few weeks ago I got a phone call at work that sent my stress and anxiety level through the roof. Within minutes, I felt like I was either going to puke or pass out...right there in my office. I've GOT to find a way to deal with all of this, because changing jobs is really not an option.

Anyway, what a long and boring entry that was! Exercise is my first plan of action for de-stressing. Plus, we've got this Canadian vacation planned for the summer. If I keep my eyes on the prize, I'm thinking I'll make it through. Really, the stress level SHOULD drop...but it just doesn't seem to be happening yet. I accept prayers from any and all parties, too. Those always help!

American Idol tonight! Woot woot! David Hernandez was a stripper! Wow! It's true!
http://www.votefortheworst.com

Another new recipe tonight, as well. Last night's was actually a success! Rock on!

Tuesdays with Jeana....

2008-03-04T07:05:00.001-06:00

Working from home today...Lily was running a fever yesterday, so I didn't feel right sending her to daycare. Ava was sad about it. Brandon took her to school and all the way there, she pointed at Lily's carseat and would question, "LILY?! WHERE GO?!" Break my effing heart, will ya?

Nothing really random right now. I'm sure as I enjoy the wonders of crappy daytime TV, I'll have something to write about.

Late night peeing...

2008-03-03T12:57:00.002-06:00

This blog, from Amy, reminded me of a truly funny story. Read her blog, then return to my story:

http://attentionwhore-amy.blogspot.com/2008/03/ing-toilet-paper.html

When we were first newly married, one night I stumbled to the bathroom for a midnight pee session. I, like Amy, see no need for lights and an overly awake state. I know what I'm doing. I know where I'm going. I won't miss the seat or get sprinkles of piss anywhere because I'm a woman. I sit to do my business.

So, as I'm doing my thang, Brandon must have gotten the potty urge as well. I did not hear him get up or start to come into the bathroom. Truth be told, I was probably half asleep on the pisser.

He walks into the bathroom, steps on my foot...this scares the ever-living out of him, and he throws up his hands in defense. I just so happen to catch one of those hands right upside my face (near my eye to be exact). I start crying.

"WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING?!" he screams at me.

"Going to the bathroom!! WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING?! Why did you hit me?!" I scream back.

"Going to the bathroom! WHY DON'T YOU HAVE LIGHTS ON?!" he returns.

"I DON'T NEED LIGHTS, DUMBASS!" I snap.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until I burst into laughter. He still, to this day, doesn't find it funny.

Hey, I'm the one that got punched, you know...not you. I feel this was payback for the time I closed the bathroom door in a sleepy stupor, only to have him run into it in the middle of the night. THWACK! Oh, and it was an old house, so the door was raised up a bit...just high enough to allow his toes to go under and get scraped all to hell.

Yeah, I might have deserved the sockin' to the face.

Someone's got a case of the MONDAYS!

2008-03-03T12:16:00.002-06:00

Random #1 - Lily puked last night. Brandon and I were getting ready to go to bed and I hear a weird coughing sound on the monitor. "Did she just throw up?" I ask Brandon. "I don't know. I'll go check, " he says. Sure enough...spewed all over the place. The random thought in all this...Jell-O does some funny things in the human stomach. It had lost all it's color on the outside, but when you would squish it (Because I did, in fact, squish it...I wanted to see what it was, because it sure didn't look like Jell-O and I figured that Lily had eaten something she found somewhere in our house)...it was still light pinkish inside. So gross.

Random #2 - I really, really want a Hershey bar. Like really.

Random #3 - I'm trying a new recipe tonight and I fear it will be a huge flop. It's a cheesy potato and ham casserole thing. Sounds like it should be okay. But who knows really.

Random #4 - I'm supposed to have a meeting with a co-worker. It's been re-re-rescheduled. I just checked messenger and it looks like she's working from home. I wish I knew for sure, because daycare called and said Lily isn't feeling the best, but it's almost naptime so they were just going to let her rest. I want to run to her and scoop her up and cuddle her. So, if I find out that this meeting is canceled, that's what I'm doing.

Random #5 - My random things haven't been as funny. I apologize for that.

Random #6 - Lily cussed again yesterday. She dropped her juice. Her response was, "Shit. Shit. Shit."

I think that's all I have for now.

What a b-e-a-utiful day!

2008-03-02T18:43:00.003-06:00

Honestly, can it get any better than today? I think we had a high of at least 75 degrees. The wind wasn't great, but hey...can't have it all I guess. We started with our grocery run to Wally World. That's always an adventure. Lunch was lasagna and I "baked" a cake in the slower cooker (blech...not reccomended). And then, we didn't do much else. This afternoon, we did go outside to enjoy the nice weather. The girls got out their cars and had some demolition derby fun in the driveway. By their bedtime, they were soooo tired. They told US they were ready to hit the sack by heading towards the stairs. Anyway, here are some pictures!

Infomercials!

2008-03-01T20:19:00.002-06:00

Pancake Puff Pan.
That sweet-ass Green and White epoxy that could probably hold the bumper on your car.
Oxi-Clean!
GreenBags...to keep your fruit freakishly fresh for a long, long time.

Just a random sampling of the infomercials I ran across as I scrolled through the nothingness that is Saturday night television.

FYI...I would like one of each of the aforementioned products (especially the Pancake Puff Pan!)

We make beautiful kids...

2008-03-01T16:16:00.003-06:00

Well, you know...I'm not biased or a braggart...but they are really effing cute! Proof is in the pudding, as they say:

It was only mildly traumatic...and when I say "traumatic", I mean for Brandon and I. Sheesh. They sure do look angelic, but I can speak with 100% honesty and say that the devil horns came out after we finished.

But really, they did great, look adorable...and we're just sooooo lucky to be blessed with such great kids!

YEEEEELLLLL-O?!

2008-03-01T08:11:00.001-06:00

Every time we open the fridge...the girls start manically screaming "YELLLL-O! YELLLL-O!" which is their cuteass way of saying Jell-O. Ever since they had the tube/adenoid surgery and got Jell-O, it's their "thing". I keep Jell-O (sugar-free) around for me for my South Beach torture, so the little mooches are eating all my damn Jell-O.

This morning, the girls had scrambled eggs, toast, and Jell-O for breakfast. Rotten, I tell you.

We're getting ready to do the picture thing. Wish me luck. I'll need it.

Hey look...2 posts in one day!!!

2008-02-29T12:50:00.001-06:00

This one just had to be posted. Seriously.

I love Girl Scout Cookies. Nothing really random about that. This is what is random:

My cookies...they are THANKING me for eating them. And I couldn't help myself.

"No, delicious fudge coated shortbread wonders. THANK YOU!"

And now, she blogs!

2008-02-29T11:32:00.000-06:00

It was requested (Lord, I don't know why...) by a certain someone ::cough cough JENNIE:: that I start blogging because I write well. Well, okay then...but you, Jennie, just might be the only one that feels that way. So you'd better read this thing every, damn, DAY!

I think my "blog plan" is to start with a daily (well, maybe...) posting of random thoughts. Sometimes they'll be funny. Possibly informational. But I can guarantee that they will be random as all get-out.

Aaaaaand, GO!

1) IBS lady at work had an early onset today. 7:46 am. Too early, in my opinion. In fact, she ruined my breakfast. Not funny. Normally she holds off until after lunch. I wish she'd keep it that way.

2) Brandon sent his application in last night for a job here at the hospital. I'm more nervous than he is.

3) We've found something the girls hate worse than their baths...............SHOWERS. I think I might need stitches from the claw marks on my arms and chest.

4) The girls are having their pictures taken this weekend. At Sears. I'm so not excited. There is no where around here to get decent pictures taken. I'm afraid I'm really setting myself up for disappointment. No one can take beautiful pictures like Janine in Omaha. I might cry.

5) "Five" was funnier last night to Ava, than "three" was the previous night. She didn't even laugh at "three" last night:
Me: "One"
Ava: "One"
Me: "Two"
Ava: "Two"
Me: "Three"
Ava: "Three"
Me: pause...no laughter?
Me: "Four"
Ava: "Four"
Me: "Five"
Ava: "HAHAHAHAHA!"
Me: There ya go!

6) Daycare just called to see if Lily had an off night last night. No. She didn't. She slept really well. I think Friday's are just hard for them. I think they are just DONE with the week by then. DONE! Oh, and she's constipated. Poor baby. I want to go pick them up. But I can't.

That's all for now! This will probably be a week day only thing...unless something spectacularly hilarious happens and deserves a random post!