Vacation Part One

The first part of vacation, the boys and I left home and drove to Chicago. The drive there was not too bad minus the fact that I had just gotten my iPhone the night before and could not get it activated until the morning we left. So I spent the drive trying to drive and play with my phone. I had to appologize to the boys a couple of times for hitting the rumble strips and almost running someone off the road.

We spent most of the weekend in Chicago Cody got sick and threw up a couple of times. He was got dehydrated from shopping (shopping?) yeah I wore him out running around Chicago. The picture below was taken while shopping before I wore him out. We did a lot of walking.

By Sunday he felt better so we headed downtown to the Sears Tower. I learned a lot of cool info about the Sears Tower. The observation deck is on the 103 floor.

I also let the boys do some swimming in Jeremy's pool/hot tub. Jeremy had to work and do some family things during the day. We went to dinner in the evening and left for Oregon Sunday night.

Props to Katie

My friend KATIE finds the funniest stuff for you to "transform" your face into.

I haven't watched the Simpsons since I was a kid but hey I'll jump on the Simpson bandwagon. So, I've been Simpsonized. It's a stretch but what can you expect.

Star Spangled Banner

Courtesy of JibJab

iPhone

So we are back from a great vacation & I will be posting pics of vacation soon. You can see a great one of Brayden on my cousins blog: http://www.ryanandkatie.blogspot.com/

But before we went on vacation (the night before) I got a new iPhone. I love it and I hate it. Here are the reasons I love it:
1. It's cool
2. I like the touch screen
3. LOVE the internet on it
4. Like the ipod feature
5. Pictures look great on it

Here are the reasons that I don't:
1. Not navigation friendly - AT ALL
2. Can't use Bloothtooth for anything but a head set (no beaming either)
3. Was not compatible with my sim card so could not transfer numbers (can't beam them either)
4. Can't get ring tones or pictures sent to me
5. Can't buy ring tones
6. Can't copy & paste
7. Can't text message multiple people
8. When you do text message it keeps the conversation all together & you can't start a new one or keep part - you keep all or none
9. Still having a hard time typing with the touch screen
10. No speed dial, just favorites and you still have to scroll through those if you have more than 5 or so

So although the phone is cool - there are several things that I don't like about it but the things that I do out weigh the others right now. But there's some tips for those of you interested in it.

R&R

I'm off to the Oregon coast for some R&R for a week. But for now I leave you with a pic of my mom with a zucchini that I grew in my garden. More posts & pics when I return.

It's harder than it looks

So, several weeks ago I blogged about the NETI POT that was shown on Oprah.

Well, I purchased my very own Neti Pot to try out for myself. I went to the health food store & asked for one, surprisingly they had several. I asked the lady if she knew that it was on Oprah & she said yes. I asked her if they ever sold any before it was on Oprah & she responded that they sold very few & once it was on Oprah they sold so many that they could not get them in fast enough. Amazing what Oprah can do for a product.

Brayden & I both had some allergies bothering our sinuses. I did it on him first. It was fine, he did really well with it. I'm not sure how much it helped him, but he said that it helped. Then when I did it on me, I poured in one nostril & nothing came out the other side. But I started to feel all this pressure in my head & feel like I was snorting water. Still nothing came out the other side. So I removed the Neti Pot & all the water came out the same nostril. So apparently if you are too congested, it does not work.

But a couple of days later as I started to drain, I tried it again, and here is the picture (if I look like the blood it kind of running to my head it's because the blood is kind of running to my head). The lady on Oprah looked a lot better doing it! I'm not sure if it helped yet or not. I need to try it again because I can tell that my sinuses are acting up again, but I really did not notice any improvement the first try.

Another visit from the tooth fairy

Brayden lost his first front tooth. This is his 3rd tooth total, but each one is still a totally cool experience. The tooth fairy brings him a dollar & 2 quarters. The quarters are important because he has decided to save any quarter that he gets so he can see how much money that he can save - which makes this financial planning mommy very happy!

Mysteries Revealed

I guess now that The Suitor and I have been dating off and on for awhile now, he is no longer concerned about his identity being revealed. So I will now be posting pictures of The Suitor & calling him J for simplicity sake.

Two weeks ago, I went to one of my houses in Ozark & noticed that the air vent was pushed up and sitting on the floor next to it. I was a bit puzzled and thought to myself, "self, how did that happen, weird, the air must be really forceful." I popped it back in & thought nothing else of it. I sat down & called J. After being on the phone with J a couple of minutes I heard some kind of noise in the house. I immediately remembered the vent & said, "I think something is in the house!" So I looked in one room & saw that the vent was pushed up. I went to the other room & saw all was ok. I came to the bathroom, snuck around the corner to look in, saw a fluffy tail & went screaming my head off into the living room! Now J was on the phone the whole time. Long story short. I could still hear the mystery animal in the bathroom for a couple of seconds. But after sitting on the table for 30 minutes, not hearing anymore noise, calling 911, talking to the police, and then calling a critter control company I managed to go back to the bathroom & slam the door shut.

Well apparently Animal Control only takes care of dogs & they don't work on weekends. Critter Control only works during the week & charge a fortune & the police won't do anything about it.

So, I leave, but J insists that I go back & do I don't know what to this animal but make sure it does not damage the bathroom. So I take Mr.T to do it...

Mr. T preparing to enter & see what awaits him behind the bathroom door.

Mr. T checking out the bathroom & coming up with nothing but a clue...

The escape path. Thank goodness my bff's husband works for the conservation department & they handle wild animals. So the next day he went by the house to check in the crawls space to see what it was, and as he opened the door to the crawl space there stood a SKUNK!!!! How on earth had there been a skunk under the house and in the house & it never sprayed who knows & who cares. Better yet why did it not spray when it heard me screaming for my life? Who knows but thank goodness it didn't

Another agent in the area that handles skunks set some traps. He has caught 2 babies so far & he thinks that the mom got squished in the street a couple of days ago. Let's hope. I will keep you updated. Especially since he left the traps for me to "take care of" this week. But here are some pics of J searching the house again to make sure none were in there & then pics of one of the babies in the trap.

Getting cocky now! But I bugged him & bugged him to get close for a picture.

Reunion

Some of my readers are family members that do not access the family web site so I am posting some news for you here:

Many of you inquired about additional shirts. If we order more than 12 the shirts will be $8. Less than 12 the shirts will be $10-$15. Let us know if you want one & then depending on the amount of orders we will let you know the .

I have the group photos on the family web site but if you would like them another way please let me know.

Sorry for not family that have to read this.

We DO see color here

As many of you know, I am adopted. This is my 2nd cousin Mia, she is not adopted. Well this weekend was the start of our by biannual Winn Family Reunion & Mia stayed with me. Along with Edward, Mr. T and OBD. One day Cody (yes, Cody NOT Brayden - I have had to clarify this multiple times) asked Mia if she was Korean. Mia replied, "no I am Mexican." Cody says, "oh, well all I knew is that you weren't white." We had a good laugh.

More reunion news to come.

Lazy Weekend

I seriously had one of THE most lazy weekends ever. Saturday it rained a lot here, like many other days recently. So, I slept in, ate, took a nap, ate, took another nap & finally got up some where around 5 PM. 5 PM - that's crazy - I seriously could not believe it.

Then I went to Springfield to El Chico & one of the servers there had a seizure. It freaked me out. She had it in the kitchen so luckily we did not actually see it. But she screamed & I thought she either saw a rodent or cut herself. I really did not want it to be a rodent & I really did not want to see any blood. They called the EMT & they said she seemed to be ok by the time it was all said & done. Pretty crazy but thank goodness she was ok. Then I went to see Blades of Glory. Pretty goofy but better than I thought it would be.

Sunday I sat in a house all afternoon & did not have a single person visit my open house on that nice rainy afternoon.

But on a random side note, there are so many movies out that I want to see so here is a list of them: The movie with Mandy Moore & Robin Williams where he is doing the premarital counseling, Ratatouille, Transformers, and Fantastic 4 - don't know when I'll get them all in but that's my list. What good movie have you seen recently - what will be the next movie that you see?

Oh, and today I bought some fireworks from a friend that sells them wholesale - I got a TON of fireworks including a huge package of the big ones, some big cakes & other stuff for around 60% off. Most of them will be used at the family reunion next week - so the fam is in for a treat.

Update

I have not been "inspired" to post lately so here are some random things going on in my life since the last time I posted.

1. The suitor came and spent a week here a couple of weeks ago. It was nice but it rained most of the time that he was here & that stunk.
2. We had VBS this past week at church. It was good. I did hear a good joke (twice) that was funny - There was this old man that loved his money so much that as he got old, he went to the bank & took all his money out, put it in a suit case & stuck it in the attic above his bed. He said this was so he could grab it on the way up to heaven. Well one day the man died & the wife sent someone up to the attic to look for the suit case & sure enough it was still there. The wife said, "I knew it, he should have put it in the basement!" Ha, Ha - VBS was about heavenly treasure.
3. I have seen Shrek 3, Spiderman 3 & Knocked Up recently. I will see Ocean's 13 & 300 this weekend (300 is still on the cheap theater here). Knocked Up I thought was pretty funny!
4. Work is still good, a good time in the market for me.
5. Had someone almost buy one of the houses but we could not agree on price.
6. I have put a for sale by owner sign in my yard. May move to Ozark we will see what happens.
7. Putting final touches on things for the reunion.
8. Helped my cousin find a house to move here & helping them with jobs.
9. Boys are with Shannon this next week in Indiana. I've already cried missing them.
10.My veggie garden is coming along & I actually was a success in having roses this year. But not a success at getting pictures of them yet.

Are you Emo?

I had my first experience with one of my children saying a slang word that I did not know what it meant. Cody was telling me about a girl that is Emo.

I've seen kids like this at the mall. I did not know that is the name for them. I am so happy that I learned this. You learn something new every day.

Vroom, Vroom

Brayden learned how to ride his bike this week without training wheels. I hate to brag, but I think the is a genius. I took the training wheels off on Monday, he practiced for like 10 minutes. Then on Tuesday, he tried 3 times & he was off like a flash, riding like a pro.

More About Cody

Cody has been working on a project with his class for the past two years. They have finally seen the project to completion. Last Wednesday he and some other classmates spoke about the project to the school board. The news was there & interviewed him. Check it out at this link:

http://www.ozarksfirst.com/content/news/archive?sid=5f4efe9ae9cecd0f291bb79fe1629b10&archive_stories_page=4 His story is called The Spineless Webquest and aired Wed May 16th.

He has gone 2 times to the capital to speak about this bill. He has learned a lot & I'm super proud of him.

Cody

I’ve had a pretty busy couple of weeks lately with Cody or I guess Cody’s weeks have been pretty busy. He was in the school play. He had practice every Monday after school for a couple of months. He had a speaking part in the first production. The school did 2 productions. So the Suitor and I went to the first production, that was cut short & they cut out Cody’s speaking part because it was held during the school day & they ran out of time. But they are to add a 3rd production, and Cody will have his speaking part. It is in a production of Treasure Island & he is a pirate. He would make his Uncle proud.

Last week he had 2 field trips. Monday he went to the Springfield Cardinals game. Then on Thursday we went to a band concert at Exotic Animal Paradise. They were supposed to perform and then go on a hayride to see the animals. Well right when we got there, the tractor/trailer had an accident & rolled over. So, the park closed down the rest of the day. The news was there & everything. So we performed and then took them to the mall. Then when we got back to school the students got in trouble & questioned because one of them or two of them as the case may be, prank called the Principal & left her nasty messages.

But the best part of the day was when we were on the bus, my bus was parked next to the other bus. The bus driver of my bus kept trying to call the other bus driver, but he was too busy picking his nose to answer. We both looked over & got totally grossed out, and she gave up & just took off.

Brayden had a field trip yesterday too, to see Space Station at the IMAX. The rest of the day got cut short due to weather. And Cody went on ANOTHER field trip to the bowling alley!

Next week Brayden gets a Field Day and a Beach Day and Cody gets to speak in front of the school board Wednesday. He will be speaking about a bill that his class got passed in the state. He made 2 trips to the capital and now he gets to make the presentation to the board next week! PLUS they both have baseball. But so far no practices because of rain.

Amazing Human Tricks

What else can I say about this? Can you do a weird trick? If so what? I am double jointed in my arm so I can twist it around & I can flip my tongue over but nothing too abnormal or interesting.

The Neti Pot

Dr Oz was on Oprah again Thursday. He has very interesting topics when he is on. Well this show was no different & it was very helpful too. But the most intriguing part of the show was the Neti Pot shown in action below & a blurb from the show. But the Neti Pot is a nose bidet. For more info click HERE

Before you try pouring water into your nostril, Dr. Oz offers some neti pot pointers.

First, mix warm water with a quarter teaspoon of salt."You never want to wash [human] tissue without having saltwater in them," he says. "Your own cells like it more."Dr. Oz says washing out your sinuses with regular water can be irritating. Cold water may make you feel like you're drowning in a pool.

Amy, an audience member who suffers from sinusitis, demonstrates the proper way to use a neti pot. "I thought it would feel like drowning, but it feels good," she says.It may look strange, but Dr. Oz says this treatment may be more effective than medication. "The [ear, nose and throat] doctors who are specialists in this area will often say this is a better treatment than a lot of the other drugs that we try to offer folks, because it mechanically cleans out the problem," he says.

Neti pots are available at health food stores and most drug stores.

Have you ever used a Neti Pot? Have you ever seen a Neti Pot before?

Hello recycling car

I parked next to this car the other day & I have several questions for the driver of this car:

Why do you have so many papers in this car?

How do you drive with papers falling in your lap?

Are you taking those somewhere?

How long did it take you to load those papers in your car?

OR how long did it take you to accumulate those papers in your car?

How long will you keep those papers in your car?

Where did you get all of those papers?

Do you ever have passengers? If so where do they sit?

Inquiring minds want to know. If you could, what would you ask the driver of this car?

Sunday

The Suitor says that in the past 6 months we have had 6 jobs: investors, loan officers, lawn care professionals, marketing gurus, investment consultants and most recently realtors. A couple of months ago The Suitor and I bought real estate together. Not having an exact plan about the homes except to sell them. During the winter we sat on the homes and did not do a whole lot to market them. Since March, we have spent countless hours marketing & brainstorming on what to do with these homes. Sell them, rent them, lease them on a contract for deed? all possibilities.

This has not always been a fun process for the two of us, but so far we are still talking to each other and actually able to laugh still during the process.

This past Sunday we held our first open house. It went ok – we had our first and only looker. One of the houses that we have, we refer to as the “big house” is the one that we held the open house in. It was too big for the people looking and most of the people that call on it. BUT we are not discouraged to the contrary we are encouraged by the one looker. So we move forward to next Sunday – our next open house!

Anyone want to relocate to Ozark, MO?

Recreational Hazards

This past weekend was just full of excitement. But let’s concentrate on one day at a time here. On Saturday The Suitor and I went bowling. He explained to me about how these girls next to us were doing these fancy bowling moves where they started swinging the ball before they even started walking and in some smooth long motion release the ball at the line. Contrary to us walking to the line and then starting our release of the ball.

In an effort to improve my not so great score, I tried this technique. The results are below. As I swung to release the ball, I hit myself in the leg with the ball. Apparently pretty hard. It hurts as bad as it looks. On a brighter note, The Suitor would like it to be know that he bowled one of his best games ever. I'm going to blame my poor score on fact that it was dark in there & only black lights were on.

Where do I sign up for a league??

Next post : SUNDAY!

What the ---?

So there is this guy on my radio station that has this segment called What the Fotsch? Fotsch being his last name, which I do not find the name of the segment clever at all. In reality it makes no sense. ANYWAY, the segment used to be on in the afternoon at the same time that I picked up the boys from school and after hearing this 3 or 4 times I avoided that station at that time. I hate the segment because all he does is chose something small and insignificant to complain about. I do not think that I have ever really heard a legitimate "complaint" on his segment.

To make it even better, now he is on in the morning and seems to have multiple 5 minute segments to whining about life. Not only does he whine and complain about the littlest things he seems so judgmental of people that are "annoying" him. What a way to start the morning on such a negative note.

But that is what I get for listening to the main stream radio - so to complaining about every little thing in life "what the (insert last name here)?"

Life

I have nothing TOO exciting to post about but here are some highlights since the last time I posted.

1. Cody turned 12
2. We went to see Meet the Robinsons which I really liked & compared to Premonition which I also saw recently & Meet the Robinsons is better
3. Cody has been sick
4. Brayden has been sick
5. Cody started doing scripture reading at our new church of Union Hill Church of Christ
6. I'm working more & business is starting to pick up for me.
7. My poison ivy did not go away & I was not on the medicine long enough, so spots are still breaking through, but I am not going to do anything about it.
8. Cody mowed his first lawn last weekend. He said it was harder than he thought.
9. I got my hair highlighted & it's ok but I have decided not worth the money
10. We went to mom's for Easter & had a nice meal, the boys colored eggs nothing too eventful.
11. I drove 3.5 hours to Kansas City today for a 3 hour meeting and then drove back in the same day another 3.5 hours!

That's it in a nutshell.

I love a good deal!

So I had to buy a mower this weekend. Mainly for the investment properties that The Suitor and I own. I’m not expert on mowers but I knew that I wanted a self propelled with that mulched & bagged. Easy start would be nice. So we headed off to mower shop. We went to the usual places Lowes, Home Depot and Sears. We found the one that we wanted at Sears.

After mowing all 4 lawns, the mower seemed to be having some problems. So we took it back. Well while looking around and being my nosey self, I realized that at 6 PM Sears was having a sale – 10% off. But they had a coupon for the weekend for 20% off that no one told us about the day before. It was 4:30 at this time. So we returned the new/old mower and hung out until 6 PM and got a new mower (upgraded even) for $70 LESS than the day before!! NOW that’s a good shopping day!

Workshop Weekend

Went to Tulsa this past weekend to hang out with Mr.T and some old friends. Had a good time catching up with all. I had lunch with some friends from church that I grew up with. Also our youth minister from the day.

This is Ericka and I. She and I have been friends since 4th grade. We used to live by eachother and walked to school together every day until 8th grade when I moved. We have stayed in contact off and on since then.

This is another friend from youth group days Jeff. His wife Cheri & their almost 1 year old twin girls. They have had a rough year with the girls but they are doing great now & looking so cute!! This was my first time to see them & they are adorable!!

Random

I have poison ivy again. 2nd time in my life & I hate it. I tried to just wait it out, but I went & got a shot today & oral shots. I asked the doctor when I should & should not go to the doctor. He said based on my condition that I should always go to the doctor. Mine is really bad, blisters and leaking and gross.

But for a more random story, I was heading to Tulsa today for the workshop. I tried to make it to Joplin to get gas, but I did not. I had to exit 19 exits from the one that I wanted to, because my light came on. So I had to stop at this random small gas station/town. The gas was really expensive. So I decided just to get $10 worth. As I am leaving I see my dad sitting in the car. My mom apparently was using the restroom. They had just left Joplin. So bizarre.

One time when Cody was a baby, I locked him in the car with my keys. I was at a Target in Tulsa. Cody was on a heart monitor too. I was freaking out & starting to run back into the store. As I was running in, I was thinking that I wish my mom was there because she would know what to do & she's locked her keys in her car several times. And who comes walking out of the store? My mom. I will never forget that. I was so happy to see her!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá 'le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially Paddy's Day or St. Patty's Day, is the feast day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (385-461), the patron saint of Ireland, on March 17, the day on which Saint Patrick died.
The day is the national holiday of the Irish people. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland, and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In Great Britain, the United States, Australia and the rest of Canada, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.
It became a feast day in the Roman Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding, as a member of the commission for the reform of the Breviary [1] in the early part of the 17th century.

Wedding Extra

This picture is up by the request of Katie. This is the man with the hawk. NOT falcon - HAWK. He was very nice & let the boys hold the hawk.

He even sang a special song for the Lord & Lady.

Bridal Party

Introducing Lord & Lady

My brother got married this weekend. This is his Medieval Wedding. Many things taken from Lord of the Rings to my understanding. The first picture is of me with my cute little nephew (my brother's baby). Then a picture of my parents with their grandkids. The top right picture is groom and baby. The bottom two show some customs of the time. The first, the best man is laying down the sword for the bride & groom to cross over. The 2nd is the groom/Lord cutting the bread with his sword for his Lady.

Although themed, the wedding was very nice. The weather was great & everyone did a really fab job putting the wedding together. My new sister-in-law's mom made all the bride's maids' dresses & the wedding dress. She did a fab job.

The reception was really great too. We had a 9 course meal. The 9 courses included:
1. Veggies - carrots & celery
2. Deviled eggs
3. Bread & cheese
4. Salad
5. Rabbit Stew
6. Main course of Pork Loin & barley
7. Fruit
8. Cake
9. Mead & sparkling cider

Mead is a wine of the times made out of honey apprently. Kind of tasted like sweet beer.

After the reception, we did pictures & then there were Bride's "games". Most of the family left before the festivities which included me. I am sorry now that I left. I should have stayed for the sword fighting.

Happenings

The boys started Spring Break today. And on their first official day of SB 2007 we headed south to Oklahoma for my brother's wedding. His medieval wedding that is. The boys will be in the wedding, so they will be dressed in theme. I made their pants and Sara (my soon to be sister-in-law) made the cloaks. I the "conformist" sister that I am, will not be dressed in theme, but instead will go in my current century White House Black Market dress.

We will be heading home after the wedding feast tomorrow, so we came into Tulsa early enough today to meet with my friend Sommer, she has the pictures. We went to the park, did some shopping and ate at PF Changs. All in all a good day. Made it an early night so the boys are plenty rested for the festivities tomorrow.

The Suiter Revealed???

I love to download ringtones on my cell phone. I love music so I like to hear my fav tunes when people are calling. My top 5 people have their own ringtones. Starting with the Suiter. His ringtone is My Love by JT.

The other day when I was at the cleaners. The Suiter called me. The girl at the counter commented that she liked my ring tone. I told her, "thanks, that's my boyfriend." Her response was a very perkie, "HE'S MY BOYFRIEND TOO!!" Her reaction caught me TOTALLY off guard. It took me a minute to figure out what on earth she was talking about. When I did, I gave her a puzzled look, smiled & shook my head yeah as I left.

Do you know me?

I mean really know me - find out, take the quiz on myspace.

V Day

The Suiter and I celebrated Valentine's Day the weekend before. I know for many people, Valentine's Day has become too commercialized. I agree, but it does not take away from the day for me. I still like Valentine's Day.

So we spent Sunday celebrating by getting a couple's massage. The idea started with the Suiter wanting to get me a pedi & mani. Well I went online and saw that this spa did couple's massages. The Suiter was NOT happy about this idea. He had never had a massage and never really wanted one.

Needless to say, he really enjoyed it. He thought the time went by WAY too fast. Did is mention that he enjoyed it? He really did. As much grief that I got over the idea, I then got thank over the idea. So many people thought that it was such a great idea, that he started taking credit for it. Which I was ok with I found it very funny & ironic!

The Receptionist

A couple of weeks ago, Brayden asked me why he had not lost any teeth yet. Which it is not uncommon for 6 year-old boys not to have lost any teeth yet; however, but I decided to look in his mouth anyway. And to my surprise I saw two adult teeth coming in on the bottom. But sure enough the bottom baby teeth were still not budging. So I made an appointment with the dentist. Well last week one of his bottom teeth started to come loose. And over that weekend he lost his first tooth.

Well, he still had his appointment Tuesday with the dentist and we found out that he has a cavity. A cavity on a baby tooth, but the dentist said it was on a back tooth that he would have for awhile, so he wanted to fill it. So I looked at Brayden and told him that he was going to get a shot next week when we come back for the follow up appointment. He got a little scared & said that he didn’t want a shot. The receptionist gave me a dirty look and told him that it would not hurt. 1st of all, why the dirty look & 2nd of all, yeah – it does hurt. So then, I told him see, you need to brush more. The receptionist gave me ANOTHER dirty look and told me that sometimes it is not the kids’ fault! What is this lady’s problem??? I told Brayden’s teacher this story just to see her reaction & she agreed with my tactics (thank goodness). She agreed that sometimes you just have to scare them a bit. And yeah it probably is Brayden’s fault since I will tell him to brush his teeth & he says but I did a couple of days ago!

Wonderful World of Winter Weather

For the most part we missed the last two big snow/ice storms that hit the area. They have both hit Springfield harder than us. This last big ice storm didn’t even bring us anything but rain.

But today we did get snow, earlier than they anticipated. They estimated around 5 for Springfield. It hit around 11:30 here. They canceled school earlier. And they already called off school for tomorrow and it is only 5:00. I love the snow. I like snow days.

The only problem is that one of the three of us has been sick every day for the past two weeks. I have had enough “home” time. I had just convinced myself it is time to get back to work!

I'm on detox

A fruit detox that is. I try to be healthy person, I exercise and I try to eat right. I like to try some of the latest diets to see if they work. Not necessarily because I need to but it becomes a challenge for me. I did the Atkins - hated it. But I did lose 10 lbs on it. I've done Weight Watcher (through friends), Slim Fast, etc... So now I am doing the fruit detox. I like it. I like it because you only do it 3 days a week. For someone trying to lose weight you do this 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Then you do it 3day a week for 1 week every month for maintenance. Another reason I like it is because I like fruit. So eatting fruit all day is cool with me. But I have felt better every time that I have done it. Not just weight wise but I lose all my water retention & helps with my other female issues. So there you have it. Due to the fact that I tend to eat pretty poorly on the weekends I do this Mon - Wed, eat ok on Thur & Friday. And cheat all weekend. So I do not lose weight with this, but I do feel better.

Most Depressing Day of the Year

Not says me, but that is what today has been declared! I won't agree to that 100%, after all the year just started. But I will agree that it started out to be a pretty depressing day.

I woke up early and started dreading the day and all of the stresses that I had coming up. So I could not get back to sleep! GREAT! Not only stressed and depressed but tired too. But I managed to get out of bed, make it to my appointment on time, study for an exam, pass my practice exam and get some encouraging words from the Suitor. So I guess it's not so bad after all.

The boys and I did have a good weekend. Saturday they both had a basketball game. Then we went to see Arthur and the Invisibles (really liked it). We ended the night with pizza. Then yesterday we spent the whole day in. I enjoyed it more than the boys. Cody stayed in his PJs all day though. So not so bad for him either!

Journey to Oprah

My journey to Oprah was pretty nerve racking. I was supposed to fly out on Saturday to Chicago. Well with the weather forcast not looking too promising, I headed out on Thursday. No problem getting on the flight. I ended up on a 1:30 flight that left Springfield at 3:30 pm. We flew to Chicago, which at the most takes 1 hour & 15 minutes. After about 1 1/2 hours, I realized that there must be a problem. Sure enough the pilot comes on & announces that we have been circling O'hare due to bad wind & they want us to circle for another 20 minutes but we are out of fuel. So we are diverting to Rockford, IL.

So after landing in Rockford for a "quick fuel up and then off again." We sat on the runway for 1 hour waiting for clearance to leave. The flight from Rockford to O'hare is only 20 minutes. Well once in the air, we circled O'hare still for another 30 minutes. So by 8:00 PM we finally landed.

Thank goodness for me because bad weather came after that. The flight that I left on was the last flight to leave Springfield until Monday morning! Holly made it Tuesday night with little problems.

Once to Chicago the Oprah show called me 2 times. Once to tell me that taping time had changed. We got the 2nd taping of the day (which ended up being the first day taping of the new year) 11-3. Then they called again to tell me that the topic had changed. But we still had tickets.

So due to the relevance of the show topic, we taped yesterday & it airs TODAY!! To make the experience even more amazing, we got really good seats. We are 2nd row center!!! So watch the show today & I will give you more about the experience tomorrow!

OPRAH

I’m going to be an audience member on Oprah!!! There it’s out. I’m so excited. As many of you know I travel to Chicago on a regular basis. Well every time I go, I look to see if there are tickets or this last minute ticket thing that Oprah does. The put topics online for last minute tapings and you write in to be on the show or in the audience. I have written in on several. On Tuesday they had one about working moms. Are you a working mom that wishes you could stay home, or a stay at home mom that wishes you could work, or do you have the best of both worlds and work from home? So I wrote in about working from home. They called me yesterday to say that they had a spot for me in the audience. The taping is next Wednesday. I get to bring a guest, has to be a working mom, so my bff Holly will be joining me. We are both SUPER thrilled. I will post more when I know when the show will be airing!!!

Present pics

Since I have had some questions about my ring. Here is a picture of it.

Also here is a picture of my purse. I do not think that you want to see a picture of the waffle maker or wine set.

Post Christmas Post

I'm not being very organized with my posts these days. So you get what you get.

I spent Christmas Eve at the hospital. Volunteering.

I spent Christmas with the family at mom's house. We had a good time. The boys got a lot of great gifts. I got a lot of great things too. From the family I got mostly money/gift certificates. Which is perfect for me.

From the Suitor I got a Coach purse, ring from Tiffany's, my fav tea, a waffle maker (I asked for) and a wine set. All of which were perfect & exactly what I wanted. The only gift that I asked him for was the waffle maker. More to give permission to give me such a practical gift. The rest he picked out himself. AWESOME!!!!

For New Year's we spent family time at a friend's house. We played games and had a good time. I plan to post a year in review list next. I did not make a New Year's resolution. Since my last year's one was a total bust. Did you make a resolution??

Merry Christmas

Click here for my holiday greeting to you:

I'm an Elf

Wii

So, this post consists of 2 important facts. First of all, I found a Wii. I, like hundreds of other crazy people, have been hunting one of these things down for weeks. I happened to be walking through the electronic department when I saw the lady stocking the Wiis. So not only did I buy one, I bought 2. That is pretty exciting shopping right there!!! I really thought it was a miracle.

2nd, I tried to sell the 2nd Wii on ebay. That was my first selling ebay experience. I have purchased plenty. But this is my first time selling. Well the experience went unfulfilled. I ended up selling the Wii privately before the auction ended. I had 3 private offers. One at a premium. But I ended up selling it to a member of the family. I sold it to my 2nd cousin. When she found out that I had an extra one, she was so excited. And that is why I bought 2. Not to sell at a premium on ebay but so I could share the joy of such a great purchase with someone else close to me. She thought it was a miracle too.

Have you ever sold anything on ebay?

Who's Listening?

I listen to a lot of hip hop. Well a lot of times we listen to our music, listen to the beat and pretty much ignore the words. The other day Mr. T told me he liked this song, and I repeated some of the words to him, his response was, "I don't know I just like the beat." I'm the same way.

But try listening to hip hop with a 5/6 year-old and you will learn quickly what the words are & you will start listening to them more.

Thanks to Brayden and him listening to some of the songs, I know pay attention to the words in a song. Thus not listening to hip hop as much. After being told, "we aren't supposed to have secrets" and then being asked, "what is a dirty little secret", "why would you want a girlfriend that is wrong" and "why is she a murderer?" I'm pretty leary of the music we listen to. Even with the Christmas music. So far, I've gotten "how can there be 12 days of Christmas?" I'm waiting for why was the mommy kissing Santa Clause?

Deck the Halls

This past weekend, we finally put up the tree. We did a bunch of shopping including getting our ornaments for this year.

I also went to a Home Interior Party on Friday night. Home Interior is not typically my style of decor, but I went with a friend. They had a ton of really cute Christmas stuff. So I bought and I bought a lot. Too much. Then they had this center piece, which I liked. The lady said that whoever booked a show for January would win that center piece. So I ended up booking my own party for January & I got this beautiful center piece.

I thought I had it bad...

While I was in the airport waiting for my flight to Chicago this past weekend, I met a lady from Alaska. She came to Springfield for jaw surgery. So she had been here for 6 weeks. That day she had her flight from Springfield cancelled & missed her connection at O’Hare to Chicago. Then she could not get another flight out of Springfield for 3 more days to go to Alaska.

But prior to her coming to Springfield, she said that she had a flood at home and was without power for 9 days. She was not able to be at her house for 9 days, went home for 1 day and then headed for Springfield.

After her surgery, she went fishing, got stuck in mud, fell & hit her face. She had to have her surgery redone. I felt so bad for her. And she was doing this all alone because her husband had to stay home and work.

THEN she tells me that on a separate flight she said that the nose gear of the plane came off. And they were skidding on the nose of the plane down the run way. This made me think of a time in Memphis when this guy called me the jinx of the flight. Well I wanted to pass this title on to this lady in the airport.

The Break / Up

I feel like I’m living Jennifer Aniston shows/movies. The Suitor and I were on “a break”. We were on a break to contemplate our future.
When I think about being on a “break”, I think of Ross & Rachel and what Ross did on their “break”. Luckily this did not turn into a Ross & Rachel break.

Then there is the Break Up. Where the break up snow balls due to two stubborn people not saying how they really feel. In an effort avoid a scene like that, I try to tell how I feel also because I am not one to keep my mouth shut. But there were times that I thought that I should not say how I feel because what difference would it make? And I knew that he was not saying things that he felt. So I had put this in God’s hands. I had decided that I want to be with him and continue our “future” together. But I cannot control what happens between us, no matter how much I want to. Because for some reason the Suitor will not let me control him, how dare he!

But I made another trip to Chicago to see him this past weekend. We talked & had a really good weekend. He said the sweetest things to me & things that I have waited my whole life to hear. He said that he wanted to be with me too. Me and my boys. I could go on, but it is a lot of mushy stuff & like I said we had a really good talk and decided to continue seeing each other.