The 29er

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
Rent. I wish we could buy our own place.

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
I can't remember...how sad is that.

3. How many colleges did you attend?
One

4. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
It matched my pajama pants.

5. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
Already????

6. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
I thank God that me and my family made it through the day, safely.

7. What do you miss about being a child?
Having no responsibilities.

8. What errand/chore do you despise?
Mopping the floors.

9. Have you found real love yet?
Yes.

10. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
A diet pepsi at the checkout.

11. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
Nope.

12. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
Keith Urban...as long as there is dessert ;D

13. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
I've never used one for any reason.

14. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
I've never been to California, so I would love to go anywhere in the state.

15. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
Career.

16. Do you have a “go to” person?
Nope, I have a blog :)

17. Are you where you want to be in life?
I'm a mom...that's all I've ever wanted to be.

18. Over the years, what about you do you think has changed the most?
My weight, and not in a good way.

19. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life?
Hell no.

20. Are there times you still feel like a kid?
Yes, when I play with my kids.

21. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?
There was never one place...just wherever the party was that weekend.

22. Who do you think impacted your life the most?
I need to think about this one...

23. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out for you?
My 5th grade teacher, Mr. Kalinowski.

24. Do you tell stories that start with “when I was your age”?
How sad is it that I can answer yes to this question.

25. What is the scariest thing that has happened to you as an adult?
Kasi's birth.

26. What advice would you give to someone about to get married?
Never go to bed mad.

27. What advice would you give someone starting their first job?
Do your best every day.

28. If you could go back and change one thing you did, what would it be?
I wouldn't change a thing.

29. If you could go back and change one thing someone else did, what would it be?
I wouldn't change a thing.

The Haunted Mansion

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E. Did you sing that as you read it? I hope so, because that's what I was going for. I have been thinking a lot about Disney World lately. I am trying to figure out what we are going to do this summer, and my mind keeps going back to Florida. I am lucky, because I have an Aunt who lives in Florida, as well as my Grandmother. If I am looking for a place to stay, I am sure I could crash with either one of them. That would save me a bunch of money, which would allow us to go to Disney World. My first and only time going was when I was twenty two years old, and I loved it. I don't know if I would have appreciated it the same way if I had been as a child. When I went, it was with my mom, my sisters, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins. We were waiting to go in when the park opened, and stayed all day. I remember wanting to ride all the rides that I had heard about as a child, like Space Mountain and It's A Small World. I watched my cousins little boy ride the Dumbo ride. Now, you all knew I would check out the elephant ride, right? The one and only souvenir I bought was a stuffed Dumbo. I still have it, too.

My Aunt said we had to go on the Haunted Mansion ride. I was a little wary, because the line was so long. It took us hours to get to the front of the line, but I can say without hesitation that it was worth every second of the wait. We couldn't see the mansion from where the line began, but as it slowly came into view, I was floored. It was gorgeous. Just check out this picture and you'll see what I mean.

When we finally got to the front of the line, I was beyond excited. They loaded us into cars that ran on a track, and the ride began. I honestly can not remember all the details. It has been about fifteen years. The one thing that did stick with me, however, were the ghosts. I remember coming into a huge room, and the track made a circle around the edge. In the middle, ghosts came flying up and disappeared into the ceiling. I don't mean ghosts that looked like people wearing sheets, I mean ghosts like I would think real ghosts looked like. They kind of reminded me of the ghosts from the movie Ghostbusters. I was in absolute awe. I will never forget how amazing that experience was, and I want so badly for my kids to have that same experience.

That is why I am thinking about doing Disney this year. I was looking into getting Disney World Tickets online, and found that orlandofuntickets.com has the best prices on tickets to all the Disney Parks in Orlando, FL. I just hope my Aunt doesn't mind when my family of five shows up on her doorstep.

Pain, Pain, Go Away

I am in pain today.

My wisdom tooth is being difficult.

The whole left side of my mouth hurts.

It hurts to chew.

It hurts to talk.

I am miserable.

Luckily, this only happens about twice a year. My wisdom teeth are coming in, slowly, and when they do, it hurts like crazy. It only lasts about a week, and then I'm okay again. I hate the dentist, and would rather live with this pain than go have them cut out.

Yes, I am a whiml, and I'm okay with that.

I Need A Lipless Sink

I bought a new dish drainer for my kitchen. The one I had was white, but it was peeling and showing the metal underneath, which was rusting. I bought a stainless steel one this time, and I love it. The only problem is that the drip pan that goes underneath the drainer doesn't fit into my sink because my sink has a lip. I now have to keep a towel under it to catch the water or else it floods my counter. I need an undermount stainless steel sink so that there's no lip. I love the look of a stainless steel sink. It would match my dish drainer. I was looking at sinks that are similar to Kohler, and others that are similar to Blanco, and it's not easy picking one. I was looking one the Mr Direct website, because they have luxury sinks available at warehouse prices. All their sinks and faucets come with a lifetime warranty, which is great. I am all about saving money, especially on quality products.

I Don't Think So

This is my tomato plant that is growing upside down on my front patio. It is supposed to be grape tomatoes, but I don't think it is. These are growing too round and too big. I think someone might have stuck the name stake in the wrong plant at Lowe's. I am kinda ticked because I like the little tomatoes better than the big ones. I do have two other tomato plants in the garden. One is romas and the other is cherries. I hope they are what they're supposed to be.

Cooling The House

The apartment we live in does not have central air. When we signed the lease, there was one broken a/c unit in the wall, and they said they would replace it. We weren't in too much of a rush, because we had our own units to go in the windows. The only problem is that our windows are small, and the units are big. It took Junior and one of his friends about an hour to figure out how to shimmy the unit into the window. I was afraid that they were going to break the glass because they were slamming the window up, and using screwdrivers and all kinds of things to get the window up just a little more. They finally got it in, but it blocks the sun from coming into the living room.

It is almost time to resign the lease, and if we do, Junior is going to ask if we can take out the broken unit in the wall and put ours in the hole. He says it will fit, but we will have a problem with the plug. The old unit is a 220, and our unit is not. The management company may need to call in a Tampa Electrician to switch out the plugs. It's the least they can do since they never replaced the broken unit like they were supposed to.

Cupcakes

My mom made these cupcakes for Kasi's birthday party yesterday. They were yellow cupcakes, with chocolate frosting. She used fondant to make the leaves and the flowers, and then stuck the little umbrellas in them. Don't they look just too good to eat?

You did a great job, mom. Thanks!

Going To Disney

I remember the first time I went to Disney World. I was twenty two years old, and I went with my mother and my sisters. I was always jealous as a kid of all my classmates that got to go to Florida on vacations, and I was so excited to finally be going myself. I rode all the rides, and my favorite was the haunted house. I was in awe of the ghosts that they had flying around the room. They looked so real!

It's been fourteen years since I've been, and in those fourteen years I have had kids of my own. I would love for them to experience the wonders of Disney World while they are young, and staying in Kissimmee would make that possible. I want to share with my children the beauty of the park. I want to see Brandi's eyes light up as she sees the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I want to hear Kasi laugh as we ride Space Mountain together. I want to watch Ryan shake Mickey Mouse's hand. And I want to see those ghosts again.

It would make it easier to have this dream come true for me if I was to win one of these awesome vacations that Kissimmee is giving away. I could win one of three weekend getaways (3 days/2 nights) for two; or one of two week-long vacations for four. I would prefer the weeklong vacation, but would be happy winning either. Their last drawing will be around June 1, so hurry up and enter to win.

I know I did.

A Moment's Peace

I gave my sister-in-law the frames I made today, and she liked them. Yay! I had fun making them, so I am happy that she is happy.

This is the first time all day I have found a minute to get on here. I am downloading pictures from Kasi's birthday party, and hopefully I'll get them online tomorrow. The kids had so much fun.

I did too. :)

More Holes

Looks like our apartment isn't the only thing around here that needs some work. As most of you know, we're having Kasi's birthday later this afternoon. Last night I was trying to get things organized, and I needed two coolers that Junior had stored in our shed.

Ryan went out there, and as he got further and further back into the shed, it was obvious that the roof has been leaking. I kind of guesses we had a problem out there when my Easter box got ruined, but I thought it was just the one box. I was wrong. Most of the boxes are rubbermaid bins, so they are sealed pretty good. The cardboard boxes are destroyed, and to be honest, I don't even remember what is in them. I wish the management company would send out a San Jose Roofer to take care of the roof out there, and the apartment's roof. I would love to be able to not have to worry about putting out buckets every time it rains.

My coolers were found, though, and not full of water. Junior is going to wash them out tomorrow, and I am going to put the punch in it for the party. They are the round ones that have the little nozzle on the front where the drink comes out. i think it will be perfect for the kids.

Picture Frames ~ Hearts On Both Sides

I don't know why this picture is so blurry...the others came out great. Anyway, this frame was made to go the way it's pictures. It had multicolored hearts going down both sides. I used the bright colors again, with white dotted borders around each heart. I might try this one on a white frame, too, for the girls.

My Horrible Floors

I am finally done dusting. It took me two hours, but it's all done. Every elephant is dust free, and now I can move on to other things.

The laundry is all clean and folded, but still sitting on the kitchen table. The food is waiting to be prepared. I am thinking about doing the pasta salad tonight so that it can get all yummy overnight. The fruit salad can wait until tomorrow. I bought strawberries, apples, a pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe, and a watermelon. Sounds delicious, right? I am going to attempt to use half the watermelon as a bowl, but we'll see. I have to do the water balloon tomorrow, and the regular balloons. I still need to mow the grass and get the yard cleaned, but I think I will let Junior take care of that. I still have to tackle this nasty carpet. I was thinking that maybe we should look into Portland Flooring and have something else put down instead of carpeting. I want something easy to clean, but that is still pretty.

I wonder if the management company would pay for something like that? I don't think so either, but it wouldn't hurt to ask, right?

Picture Frame ~ Pink And Purple Flowers

This has the same types of flowers as the one below. I used two shades of pink, and purple for the flowers. It can be used both ways, and I think it's very feminine looking. Not that the others aren't, but this one just looks "girly" to me. Make sense?

Clean Or Blog?

I have been cleaning like crazy to get this house ready for tomorrow. Like usual, I left everything to the last minute, and instead of getting to it, I am sitting here, blogging. The good news is that there is only a fifty percent chance of showers tomorrow afternoon, with the real rain holding off until Sunday. I have been praying very hard for sunny skies during the party.

Okay, I really need to get up from here. I have to finish dusting and run the vacuum. I don't think that is going to help the nasty carpet they have in here. I really need to ask them to replace it with some nicer carpet from Shaw Carpet. I am tired of looking at all the burned spots on ours. I have no idea what the people who lived here before us did, but it looks like they worked on cars right in the middle of the living room. Luckily, I have a nice rug that covers most of the spots. Just promise if you visit, you won't peek underneath.

Picture Frame ~ More Flowers

This one has flowers down both sides. It can be used both ways, but I made it to go the way it's pictured. These are just little dotted flowers, with green tails. I really like making flowers this way. It's quick and easy, and they come out so cute. Or at least I think they do. :)

Watch For Father's Day

Now that Mother's Day is past, the stores are already putting out the Father's Day gifts. I am horrible at picking out mens gifts. I never have any clue what to get Junior, or my own dad. for Father's Day. The kids are out of school before then, so they don't have the handmade stuff to give like they do for me on Mother's Day. I think this year I might get them to do some crafty stuff at home, maybe make home made cards or something.

I was looking at citizen watches for Junior, because now that he is working his new position at work, he likes to keep track of the time. I know he doesn't like the more popular watches with gold or silver bands, so I was lucky to find this beautiful black one. It's the Citizen AJ0100-02E Men's Promaster Strap
watch. It has a durable black rubber strap, which I know Junior will like. It is water resistant to 200 meters, and it displays the day and date. I found this watch at BlueDial.com, and they have it at a great price. They offer second day free delivery in the United States, and a five year warranty.

I really think Junior would love this watch. Now to just come up with a way to pay for it.

Picture Frames ~ Flowered Corners

I think this one is my absolute favorite.

I just did three flowers in each corner, with a little bit of green leaves.

You can use it either way, which is great.

I think when I do one for myself, I might paint the frame white. Or maybe black.

Something that will make the flowers pop a little bit.

My First Friend

When I moved down south fifteen years ago, I didn't know anyone. I had just gotten out of a long relationship, and I was pretty depressed. For a few months, I did nothing but hang out at my mom's house. I slept in bed with my sister, and had nothing to do all day but think about my future. I was twenty two years old, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

I went to work at a fast food restaurant, and met some nice people. One girl in particular became my best friend. We did everything together, and I was able to move on from my depression. She was the one who eventually set me up with Junior. Before then, I was thinking of checking out christian chat rooms. I wasn't into the bar scene, and I wanted to met a nice guy. I knew chat rooms are free, and you can find people who share your interests. I grew up in a Baptist Church, and wanted to meet someone who did, too. That's not the way things worked out, though.

I married a man who didn't believe in church, but maybe that was what God intended for me. In the fourteen years I have been married, I have gotten him to go to church sporadically. We are talking about joining a church now. I hope this time it sticks.

Picture Frames ~ Hearts

I made this one with hearts.

I really like this one. It think it is kinda playful and fun.

I used bright colors, and outlined them each with white dots.

This one can only go one way, obviously.

I think I am going to make a bunch for myself when I am done with these.

Lesson Learned

What are people thinking?

We were at the gas station the other day, and there was a big commotion about three pumps down. Junior and I walked down to see what was going on, and it was a kid locked in a car. The mom ran into the store, and the dad was pumping gas. They left the keys in the ignition, because they were right there with the car.

The child, who was about two years old, had gotten out of his car seat, and accidentally hit the button that locks the doors. The parents were trying to get him to hit the button again, but the child didn't know what they were talking about. After about ten minutes, the child started getting upset, and the parents were freaking out. They needed a Kansas City Locksmith to come and unlock their doors, but they called the police instead. They were able to use a slim jim to get the doors open. I have never seen a child so happy to be in his parents arms.

The lesson I learned is that no matter what you are doing, never leave the keys in the ignition if there are kids in the car.