Picking Furniture

I am still looking for furniture to put outside near the pool. I am leaning towards some type of restaurant tables; you know the ones that they always show on the side walks in front of trendy little cafes on television. I found a website called Contractfurniture.com where they have a huge selection for tables. They give you the option of choosing the base you want, and the top you want. This gives you hundreds of different possibilities. I, of course, loved the black metal bases with the gray and black speckled tops.

Now I just need to pick out the chairs I want to go with the tables.

The Secret

I think I found the secret to losing weight...not eating. With my mouth hurting so bad, I am hardly eating, and it shows on the scale. I would give anything right now for a yummy cheeseburger, but it hurts to much to open my mouth and chew.

Hopefully in a couple of days I will be back to normal. I'm a big girl...I need to eat!

How Do You Shop?

When you need to make a big purchase, what do you do? Let's say you need to buy a tent. Do you go to the first store you see and buy a tent, or do you shop around for the best deal? Do you do Comparison shopping to make sure you buy the tent that most fits your needs?

I am a planner. If I know we need something, I like to do a little research. I recently found a site called willyfogg.com, where they do the research for you. All you have to do is look up what you need, and they will show you that product, and then similar products so you can choose which one is best for you. I looked up camping equipment, and was quite impressed with the results that showed up. I now know exactly what I want, and where I can get it.

That's my kind of shopping.

Belated Father's Day Gift

The last week of school, Brandi brought home a gift for Junior for Father's Day. It was wrapped, so I had no idea what it was. She took it into her room, and hid it so Junior wouldn't see it until Father's Day.

Well, the big day comes, and Brandi is so upset because she forgot where she put his gift. I told her it had to be somewhere in her room, and she would find it. Yesterday, the girls and I cleaned their room, and guess what Brandi found?

How cute is this? It's a magnet, so it is proudly displayed on my fridge.
She put it on Kasi's headboard (which has a bookshelf) and forgot about it.

She was all smile when she gave it to her Daddy.

Treat Me Nicely

Do you know where to get cheap police boots? Try CHIEF. This is a company that puts their customers first. Their staff has been in position since the company started, and you can deal with the same representative for all of your needs. There are many ways to order; by phone, by mail, by fax, or online. They get you the best deal possible, and they treat you like the a person, not a number. I can tell you from personal experience that when someone in customer service speaks to me like they really care about what I need, and not like they are "dealing with me", I am more likely to return to them with my business. To me, it's all about the way a company treats it's customers.

Thursday Thirteen ~ 7/23

Thirteen Steps To Yummy Home Made Fried Cheese Won Tons

1. get all ingredients together...1 package cream cheese, fresh chives, sugar, won ton wrappers, and peanut oil.

2. mix together cream cheese, chives, and a little sugar, to taste. If you want them sweet, add a lot of sugar. I just put about 2 tbsp.

3. line up your won ton wrappers on the counter like I do.

4. add a small drop of the cream cheese mixture...if you add too much, you won't be able to close the wrapper.

5. using your finger, moisten two edges of the wrapper, and fold in half.

6. press edges together with a fork.

7. fold the two edges into the center, and moisten with more water.

8. place won tons on waxed paper.

9. heat peanut oil over medium heat...I have tried this with other oils, and peanut works best.

10. let the won tons take a bath in the hot oil.

11. flip them after about 2 minutes.

12. place on a paper towel to absorb the excess grease.

13. enjoy your yummy home made fried cheese won tons!~

To participate, go here.

New Bedding

I have noticed something about myself. Whenever I am looking for household things, from kitchen canisters to Bedding Sets, I always pick something black. Purple is my favorite color, and I tried to find bedding I liked that was purple, but I kept coming back to this black, gray, and white checkerboard. Isn't it beautiful? I would love to have this on my bed at home. I can picture the entire room in my head. There would be white walls, and gray carpet. The furniture would be a glossy black. Simple lamps with soft bulbs on the nightstands, perfect for reading before bed.

Now we just need to buy a house so I can have my dream bedroom.

More Fun With Playdough

I promised more pictures of the girls playdough masterpieces, so here you go.
They really like this people swimming theme, an they are making the cutest heads.
Check out the Mohawk on this little guy.

I think Brandi did this.
Yesterday they made an entire farm, but I didn't get a picture of that.
My camera battery died, and they didn't want to save it.
The farm quickly became a flower field.

My camera is ready today for whatever masterpiece they create.

Apartment Finding App For The iPhone

Sometimes I feel like I am the only person in the world who does not have an iPhone. In fact, I don't even have a regular cell phone. We had a couple last year, but when we moved, we had top have them turned off. I would love to get one for Junior, because he does so many side jobs, there are times I have no idea where he is.

My brother recently got an iPhone, and it is really cool. I love how you can put different types of applications on it. I have seen commercials lately about all kinds of companies developing apps for it.

I just heard about a pretty interesting app that I would love to try. You all know that our lease is up on the apartment, and we have decided to only sign for another six months. That means we need to start looking for a new place to live. We can download MyNewPlace in the iPhone app store for free, and search for rental properties on our phone. This app lets us search Nationwide for a new apartment, and we can narrow down our search based on what we are looking for. I would love to find a three bedroom with two bathrooms, and I can put that in the phone, along with the city and state, to find available apartments. This makes it so much easier to find the perfect place. When we moved last year, we just randomly drove around town, looking for "for rent" signs. Knowing exactly where to look would be so much easier.

You can find this app at http://www.mynewplace.com/iphone. They are a three time Business Week Best of the Web Winner, and they were the first to put Facebook Connect on their site so you can share the listings you like with your friends.

My mom might find this useful, too, because she is also looking to move. With more than six million apartments and rental homes nationwide, we are both likely to find the perfect place.

Fun With Playdough

I was cleaning out the girls closet this afternoon, and found a tote filled with playdough. It didn't take them long to start making things, and letting their imaginations get the best of them.

I love this! It's a mom and dad swimming in a round river (notice the orange bridge) with their baby relaxing on the center grass island. You can't really see it, but their is a blue duck swimming in the water in the lower right corner.

I have more pictures of their other creations coming soon.

It's Been A Few Days...

...and I have been busy! I needed to make a sign for my soon to be nephew, so I was working on that. I think it came out great! Now I just need to mail it up north to my sister.

I also made this for her. Years ago, I made these for everyone for Christmas, back when she only had two kids. It had both boys names on it, but she took it off her wall when Kevin was born, and I have never gotten around to making a new one for her.

I did this one yesterday, and instead of putting all the boys names, I just put "and the boys". I think it came out great! I love how the flowers look.

All three signs will be attached with wire, but I am going to send it to her undone, that way it fits better in the envelope. Jake's sign will also have ribbon or wire to hang on...I just haven't figured out which yet.

Now if only Colleen would find out what she is having, I can make a sign for her baby.

New Computer Chair

I need a new computer chair. I used to have a nice one, but the back broke off, and it was so uncomfortable to sit in. I was looking through new Office Chairs, and found one similar to this one. There was one big difference, though.

The chair I found was purple.

Junior says there is no way he will let me have a purple chair in the house, but you all know that I usually get what I want. Especially since I spend so much time online, and the chair was so comfy.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get it.

Enough Already!

How many different farm games can one person play?

I do farmtown, as you know.

I also do farmville, because it is similar to farmtown.

Now there is barn buddies and something else I can't remember, where you can steal other people's harvests.

I say enough already!

Please feel free to send me trees, just no more invites to the other farm games.

I think one addiction is bad enough.

Hello, All

I am still alive. I think this is the longest I have gone without posting here in a long time. I have been suffering through a pretty bad toothache, and think I am finally on the "getting better" side of things. The day before yesterday is kind of a blur, because I took a lortab. I am such a lightweight when it comes to medication, and half of one put me out for 12 hours, and then I only stayed up a few hours, then went back to bed and napped the rest of the day away. Now I have just been taking plain tylenol, and it's been okay. Hopefully by tomorrow I can make it through the day without taking anything.

Beauty Tips For Women

I love magazines. For the past few years, my father's wife has given my sister's and I a magazine subscription for Christmas. I love getting it in the mail every month. I have also recently discovered the joys of online magazines. Take Scrubs, for instance. This is a magazine geared towards nurses, but let me tell you, they have articles even us non nurses can enjoy. I just read a great article called "Wake Up Looking Younger", which listed tips for doing just that.

The first tip was to never wear makeup to bed. I have heard this before, and to be truthful, I love showering at night. there is nothing more comfortable than sliding a clean, warm, relaxed body into bed every night. At least there isn't in my opinion.

The second tip was to use a facial moisturizer. This is one thing that I do not do, but think I need to start doing. I want my skin to look as good as my moms does, and she has always used a face cream.

The third tip was surprising to me. Did you know that you should sleep on your back because sleeping face down or on your side can cause more wrinkles? This is one tip I know I can't follow. I always sleep on my side or tummy.

The fourth tip was something I never thought to do, and that's to brush your lips when brushing your teeth. After, make sure and apply a lip balm.

The last tip, and this is the one I know and follow, is to tweeze at night. Now, I don't do my eyebrows. I never have. I do, however, have these awful hairs on my chin that I constantly have to pluck. Plucking can cause redness, so doing it at night gives your skin a chance to heal while you sleep.

These tips can apply to every woman, not just nurses, because we all want to look our best. I read two other articles, too. One was about your nails, and the other was about makeup. I'm not going to share those tips with you here. If you want to know, go read the articles. Check out the magazine. I know you will enjoy it just as much as I do.

Camera Critters ~ Seven

I think it's been a while since I have posted an elephant picture.
I took this at our local zoo. Isn't he or she beautiful!
I love me some elephants!

To participate, go here.

Ryan's New Hobby

Ryan has decided that he wants to learn how to skateboard. I am hesitant, because I know how dangerous it can be. I did promise him that we would sit down together and look for longboard skateboards and safety equipment online, and that I would keep an open mind.

When I was a child, I remember going down a hill on my cousins skateboard and wiping out halfway down. I sprained my wrist, and never got back on a skateboard. I don't want to pass my fears to Ryan, but I want him to be careful. The best way I know to do that is to make sure he has all the safety equipment available. He will have on knee pads, elbow pads, and a helmet before he puts even one foot on a skateboard.

Safety first!

Is It Christmas?

Ryan asked me before if it was Christmas? He's such a wise butt.

I baked another two loaves of banana bread this afternoon, and right now I have the peanut butter oatmeal bars in the oven. My house smells so good!

He does have a point, though. I never bake like this. It's just that I don't want all these bananas and zucchini to go bad.

Affordable Eyeglasses

I have been wearing glasses for years. This pair looks exactly like the ones I wear every day. The only difference between these eyeglasses and mine is the price. I paid over one hundred dollars for my glasses, and these only cost eight dollars. That's about a ninety dollar difference. I could have bought several pairs of glasses, and wear them according to my moods. Or I could have just bought the one pair, and saved the difference to do something special.

The glasses pictured are from ZenniOptical.com. They have so many different styles and colors of fashionable eyeglasses starting at eight dollars. I was browsing their site, and found so many cute pairs. They had a purple pair that I would love, but I think I might be a little too old to pull off that look. I also found a Christmas themed pair, and I would love to wear those around the holidays. In fact, I would love to have a different pair of glasses for every Holiday.

They also offer different types of lenses, like bifocals or progressive lenses. They have tinted sunglasses and sunsensor lenses. There are so many different options to chose from, you are sure to find something to match your taste and style.

Bread, Bread, And More Bread

I have been in a baking mood. I'm not sure if it's all the zucchini from my garden or what, but I have been baking bread since yesterday. I've made four loaves of zucchini bread, and two banana breads. I still have more bananas, and they need to be used soon, so I will probably bake again today. Brandi also mentioned baking some peanut butter oatmeal bars, but we'll see.