UU Church - become a part of the community

We have recently returned to the church we went to before Jamie. (BJ) It's a Unitarian Universalist who believe all religions have part of the truth and no religion has all of the truth. Since I am such a 'on the other hand' type of thinker this is the perfect environment for me, and Mike loves it too.

We started back because Jamie started asking to go to church. She goes to a Catholic Daycare and they talk about church alot in there apparently.

Anyway we are trying to embrace the congregation, as the pastor is leaving in June. If we aren't connected to folks in the congregation we won't continue to go. This pastor has been preaching that the last several sermons we have attended and it makes sense.

I have met one lady who quilts which I have always wanted to learn to do. She is even offering me one of her extra sewing machines. Last night we went to a chili cookofff that had line dancing. I am not a fan of line dancing, but Jamie loved it. There were four other little girls there and they danced together and ripped and roared all night. (Jamie came home and vomited all over the bed afterwards though)

I have met another couple who have SLR cameras which I am in the process of buying right now. (My buying process is a bit longer than most folks).

We hope to put in more effort so we can become more a part of the church community this time, then we can't just drift away...

Doctor Doctor

I have doctor appts every week, last week, this week and next and the week after. Today I scheduled an allergist appt for July. I gotta get a handle on what is causing my health concerns. I have gone through several bags of cough drops and have to use a narcotic cough medicine to sleep at night.

I still am relying on the nebulizer at least a few times a day.

Geesh, if all of this is from allergies, I could just get shots each week...and I hear I would need to go to the doctor to get them. But if its a pulmonary issue it could be worse..

Enough of this subject, sorry for the health whining post.

Going to Hell to Play Euchre I hope

Maybe I will get to play Euchre! While we are in Michigan at the lake cottage that is.

We are staying pretty close to Hell...yes an actual town called Hell MI. I have been there before for a Euchre night one night when I was visiting my dad. Euchre is a little known but a lot of fun card game that it seems only those from Michigan and Ohio know about. You use 9's - Aces only and it involves trump and bidding a bit like spades or pinochle. I really miss the game, I just might have to sneak away and go play. They have these Euchre 'Tournaments' in small bars up there. I dont know why they are called tournaments, you just pay like $4 and you play 10 rounds. If you are in the top three you get some kind of money prize. Typically they are played in bars although I have played them in Elks clubs as well. In that club the prize was meat. Hahaha. First through 10th prize got a raw slab of meat. A butcher sponsored that game. ahhh, good times.

Sunday Blues times three or Crabby Mommy

I have been absolutely crabby today. It looks like my baby doesn't want to nap anymore, but I sure do. For the second day this weekend Jamie refused to nap. While I was napping...Mike left for Home Depot so Jamie begged to come in and 'nap' with me. Not what I call napping...'Boing boing Boing' Mommy can I have a lollipop, Mommy where's daddy...and so on. So up we got.

We tried the pool but it was barely 80 degrees, and I just didnt want to stay in that water. She stayed in for a bit then we went to the screened porch. She wanted to swing, but crabby mommy didnt want to. So I lowered the swing so she could get herself in and out and perhaps get the swing moving. She started crying hysterically! I don't want my swing so little! I want it big again! Crabby mommy found that absolutely hysterical and started laughing. Jamie didn't find it so funny, she charged at me, her fists pounding. Hmmmm, such a lovely holiday.

Taking a chance

The cottage we are wanting to rent requires a $500 deposit. She hasn't emailed me the contract yet, but I can't help thinking all the risk is on our end. If she had been listed in my favorite vacation rent site VRBO there would be a guarantee of some sort. But I went off elsewhere on the internet when none of the available cottages had the wifi and the dates I wanted.

I found her on a little obscure site called rentalbug - I think she is for real but you never know. Someone could just fish for deposits over the internet...

I asked my dad to go by there and check it out, its about 20 minutes from his house. At first he said he would, but he left a message yesterday saying he didn't want to try, that he was afraid he would get lost.

That made me sad...my dad is an old man now. He used to love to drive up around the lakes in that area exploring...I was hoping he would come visit us there and we would have a couple nights with him out by the lake. I guess not...

Private Pooper

One of my favorite bloggers Lisa was blogging on the subject of bathroom habits among married couple and whether you could do #2 in front of your spouse. It reminded me of this time Mike and I were looking for a new house back in '99 before we found this house we live in. One of the houses we looked at had almost everything we wanted, a pool in the backyard, a separate living and family room and 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms...sort of.

In the master bedroom they had torn down a wall between the toilet and the bedroom so the throne was out in the open over towards the corner of the bedroom. The realtor said they were opening up the space of the room and said "Isn't it romantic?" Ummmm ...NO! It isn't. No way no how will I ever be pooping in the same room as my husband or really anyone except my daughter come to think of it. Anyway that led us to our little family joke. We both need a private pooper, while we were househunting whenever we found a house that the master had a toilet stall separate from the bathing and sink area, we would whisper to each other "Private Pooper!"

Hmmm, maybe you had to be there. But can you imagine:





'

Cottage Bound!

We are going to go to Michigan to visit my dad and other relatives this summer. As he smokes inside his house and I have been struggling with my asthma/bronchitus, staying with him isn't really an option. When I was a girl we had a couple 'up north cottages' we stayed at some summers in Michigan. The one on a lake with a rowboat was a favorite. We stayed there when I was 13, 14 and 15. I would take that rowboat into town (usually with my brother) and in that little town there was an arcade - can you say pinball wizard. The lady that ran the arcade liked me and let me watch it a couple of times. Boy was that the life for a 14 yr old!!

Anyway I thought it would be alot nicer to stay somewhere; rather than relative hop or stay in a hotel. The hotel would be $100/nite, so why not spring for a cottage on a lake? It includes everything and it even has Wifi!! I don't have it firmed up, but this is the one we hope to stay in. This is the view from inside look at that pretty lake view! It is only 15 minutes or so from my dad's house so that is a big plus too. I am hoping to take almost 3 wks off from work, I turned in the paperwork and haven't heard otherwise, so I am getting really excited.

Voicemail shortcuts!!

"Your car warranty is about to expire..."

"We are calling to remind you about the blah blah blah meeting, Doctor Appt. etc."

"Hi, did you know that as a voter you..."

I a so sick of my home voicemail I was seriously considering dropping it. I have a phone at work I have to check and respond to, a blackberry at work and a cell phone. By the time I get home the last thing I want to do is check the home messages, specially when so many of them are lame. I would much rather you continue to call me than to leave me a message on my home phone. If you can't get me at home, try my cell, or if it's during the week call me on my work line or cell phone. I told Mike I was considering dropping the voice mail part of our home service, but he wouldn't have it. He promised to take the responsibility to check the home messages every night, but neglects to do so....

So, yesterday after listening to several messages some of which I don't know how long were on there as there is no way to know when you haven't listened to your messages every day, I thought to myself, there has to be an easier way! Why ish't there more options in voice mail, like why cant you delete message, right when you hear it, why do you have to listen to the entire message, and if you miss the phone number, why can't you just listen to the part you missed?!?!

Soooo, I did what any modern internet user would do, I did a search for 'Voicemail shortcuts, and found this list on this wonderful gentlemen's blog:

During the Message
77 - quick erase
# - skip, no end-of-msg options
1 - rewind 10 secs
11 - rewind to start
2 - pause/restart
3 - forward 10 secs
33 - skip to end
4 - slower
6 - faster
8 - vol to normal
9 - louder


At End of Message
7 - erase
# - skip, no end-of-msg options
9 - save
5 - msg date/time
4 - replay

Hope you may find some of these options helpful, it works on AT&T home and wireless, and may work on others as well. I am going to check into whether it works on Verizon this week.

Let me know if they work with your systems if you have another company.

Happy messaging!

I have over 72,000 Reward Points! Guess what I am getting

THis is the Canon Rebel - one of the 2 entry level digital SLR cameras I have been coveting. Today while checking my reward points on one of my Chase credit cards that was about to expire I noticed the other credit card we use all the time has over 72,000 reward points. Guess what you get for each 10,000 worth of points? $100 gift card from Best Buy. The camera package is $749 and that includes the body, (which has a built in flash; and two lens one 18-55 and the other 70-300 as well as a case and charger. I have been wanting one of these since Jamie was a baby and I realized that a digital point and shoot is never fast enough to get the shot. I am so excited.

Mike can be a bit pessimistic, he thinks it's too good to be true, he thinks Best Buy won't let us use 7 gift cards for the purchase. I say they will. I guess I will call and make sure tomorrow before I order the 7 gift cards.

I want it anyway, now it is so close I can taste it.

Hooray for my new follower!

Thanks Moneek, I know you don't read all the time, but you have been following me just about since I started this blog so it's great that you became official. Sometimes I think I am blathering away to nobody but I know I have a few readers and that makes me happy for some reason.

I am still sick, I have 2 ear infections and a sinus infection. They are sending me to a pulmonary guy but I can't get in until June. Meanwhile they changed my inhaler to Advair as I seemed to have become dependent on the steroid shots I have gotten 6-7 times since Christmas and I guess Advair has some kind of steroids in it. Yup it apprears I am a steroid user. And that isn't good, it can lead to bone loss.

Ok Ok enough about boring health concerns. Suffice it to say I am still coughing myself into a frenzy several times daily.

Today all three of us went into the pool for the first time this year. Not for long, after dinner we went out there and vaccuumed the pool, watered and planted some flowers and then went for a dip. I even got in the Hottub for a quick soak. Ahhhhh, felt so good.

We are thinking about moving back to the beach where we used to live. We moved out away from the beach shortly after we got married in 1999 in order to get more house for the money. Wish we would have bitten the bullet and gotten something beachside back then. Now to do it we are looking at homes for 300k to get what we want - at least 2000 sf, a pool and a garage are musts. I would also like a kitchen that you can see into the family room from this time- a more open floor plan.

So we are going to get some work done around the old homestead. Have the screened porch polished and painted, and the rotten wood replaced on the shed and also get a new roof. Then we may also get new cupboards and counter tops in the kitchen and have teh living room and dining room and halls repainted. Our ceiling stretches to 20 feet on one side of the living room and hall so there is no way we will be doing it ourself.

So now, not just spring cleaning, spring cleanout!

More about why we are considering a move later. Thanks for reading.

Sick again but not the swine

I dont' know why I keep getting sick, this is the fifth time since Christmas.
Maybe we ran too hard last weekend? Jamie's school had a really cool carnival, with slides bouncy houses, pony rides and a ferris wheel for kids with cages around the seat. Also a great rummage sale. We got a fold up bed for $6; a southern belle dress with a big hoop for Jamie for $1; and lots of softwear for kids - fun game style learning for .50 each. After the carnival we went over to some friends for lunch and a swim in their heated pool. Then on Sunday morning we went to church for the first time in eons; Jamie really loved it. Anyway maybe I ran too hard? I am good for nothing today.

Look at this horsey her Aunt Chris gave her, Jamie loves it she carries it everywhere even bed!



Sne loves big dresses!


This is the pony she rode, his name is Mikey. He was the smallest one and very cute.

And this is her almost pony friend Dakota and Aunt Patty's cleavage

A New 'Do

I got a wild hair...or should I say I got rid of a few wild hairs - Ha! Anyway, I got thinking about going shorter to have a more professional image. I have been watching a bit of 'What not to Wear' and 'How to look 10 years Younger' and a gal at work just got hers cut short and I really have been liking it.

I was thinking of going to my regular guy at Hair Cuttery and I decided to go to a real salon. I called my good friend Chris and told her I was ready for a 'big girl cut' and asked her for her gals name and number. She fit me in that day and the rest as they say is history.

I have never spent more than $20 for a cut in my life before and this was four times that after buying products and a tip. The gals name is April - she is from New York City and is that classic New Yorker - she was more excited than I about my big change. She is trying to talk to me into caramel highlights for next time, we will see. I am pretty happy about my home color and the price is sure affordable.

One step towards the new me. I am happy with the change and so is Mike, and the people at work were freaked - I haven't had that many people visit my desk ever. I have basically wore my hair the same way for the 16 years I have worked there, so they were pretty surprised. Same for Mike although I did warn him before I got home. Also, he has always like bangs on me so he is a happy guy.

Stay tuned for more changes. I feel ready and empowered for some reason.

Crazy 8s

Crazy Eights
One of my favorite bloggers Lisa had this posted today. Join in if you want to play. It's always fun to find this stuff out about others (and yourself!)

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1} Our pool being clean
2} My mom being 100% healthy again
3) Seeing Jamie get more grown up
4) Taking Jamie to England
5) Retiring someday
6) Going to Michigan (maybe this summer)
7) Swimming
8) Getting smaller


8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1} Downloaded photos
2} Worked
3} Saw my mom
4} Did a load of laundry
5) Kissed my daughter and my husband
6) Lost my temper with my daughter and my husband and my mom
7) Felt guilty for losing my temper
8) Did 3 blog posts in one day!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1}Travel whenever I wanted ($ and Time being no object)
2}Get and stay skinny
3}Be more patient
4}Be more compassionate and nuturing
5}Make a huge amount of money quickly and legally
6} GIve more money to my mom and to charity
7} Keep my house tidier
8} Play instruments & sing

8 Shows I Watch:
1)Rescue Me (Yay the new season just started!)
2)Big Bang Theory - hilarious
3)Jon and Kate plus 8 (I know she is a b*tch - I like her anyway)
4)Californication (Who knew David Duchovney could be so sexy?)
5)New Adventures of Old Christine (Julia is just as funny as she as on Seinfeld)
6)Rules of Engagement
7)Dexter (all comedies up to here, and yes this show about a serial killer is a bit of a dramedy)
8)10 years younger
9)What not to wear ( I have learned alot from these two shows - Update to come)
10)The News - Today show in the morning and local news at night (oops thats more than 8!)

Join in if you want to play - I won't be tagging anyone, it's too much like homework that way, but leave a comment if you are participating on your blog, it's fun to see your answers too. Happy weekend!

Cute Britches

Jamie fought me tooth and nail twice on wearing these pants, but this time despite her protests she kept them on to go to school. Look at that pose. Right when we got to shcool, the first person to see her- one of her favorite teachers said "Cute Britches Jamie!".

Now they are a favored item of her wardrobe, even if they are not a dress.

Out on our porch in her baby swing.

Mysterious Red blotches

Anyone see anything like this before? I was worried, then the next day at school the teacher had the director call me and tell me that Jamie was very tired out and not herself that day. I almost took her to the dr but she seemed fine the 3rd day. Anyone have a clue?

More Spring Clean out & Distracted Parents = Bad Parents

Over the winter our glass patio table got knocked over by the wind and the glass went into the pool. Murphys law I guess. Anyway we knocked around ideas the rest of the winter on how to get that glass out and when it came down to it someone just had to get in there and dive for it.

So the other day despite the non hot temperatures of the water or the air I went for an early dip. Yes me, Mike cannot tolerate the cold water, and I did grow up in Michigan after all. 74 degrees was about as hot as most of the lakes got to anyway that I grew up swimming in.

Anyway, Jamie was so excited despite us both telling her she couldn't swim...guess you know where I am going with this...We let her sit at the steps during the task. Mike would take the full dustpan when I scooped it out and hand me an empty one and dump the full one and so on...One of the times I came back up and Jamie was bobbing in the water, only the top of her head was visible.

We were both pretty freaked out...make that all three of us were freaked out.

We need to get that girl into swimming lessons and get her swimming this summer without fail.

Big smiles in college yearbook equal long marriages

This recent study shows those who have Big smiles in their college yearbooks have happy long marriages. Those with forced or weak smiles are more likely to divorce.

While looking at the two before adoption photos I chose for yesterdays post I got to thinking that this child is smiling bigger and more often now so we must be doing something right. Hope we can keep it going until she is in college so she can smile a big one and have a happy marriage and life. We love this child so!

Sweet kitties but sharp claws

Truman Minnie and Spicy are a year old now and all sweet kitties. Just in the last couple of weeks they have all gotten very affectionate and are a joy to be around. No elimination issues, no fighting and hissing, and Minnie even spent part of the night with me last night in bed. I couldnt do that with my other three until they got much older as they would get too crazy and wake me during the night.

I made the decision not to declaw them and am glad I didn't. They haven't destroyed anything, they choose to scratch on things that don't matter. One of the things they use is 3 of those foam letter mats we have in front of our entertainment center. Yes they are ruining them but it's ok. Small price for them not to ruin couches and carpets.

It is a bit difficult to clip their nails, none of them like it, but tolerate it better now then they did as kittens. I have been tempted to get the pet nail filer that they have been advertising so much on tv - the Pedipaw or the Peticure; but when I looked up reviews on the net I saw that I was better off with the Dremel - the authentic filing tool that those commercialized products are copying.


I don't know how well it will work for them yet. I am in the asimilation phase now. I am keeping it next to me and turning it on and letting them sniff it and get used to the noise and have touched Truman's claws to it a couple times. I will buy some cat treats and treat them when they let me use it. Hope it goes well. I don't think the clipper is a good idea anymore.

Before the adoption

I am on my old laptop today, Mike bought some software called PC cleanup in hopes I would start using this laptop again instead of the new one that is his. (I am not sure how successful that has been yet). Anyway I don't have any of my newer photos at my disposal so here are a couple from before we officially adopted Jamie.

That one photo of her in the stroller with the Stuffed Drop of blood (yes isn't that adorable - Awww cute little droplet of blood) from the Florida Blood alliance brings back memories. At her 12 month check up there was concern that her head had increased in size more than it should have so they wanted her to have a MRI. But because she wasn't officially our daughter we couldn't ok any use of sedation, not that I would have wanted to do that anyway. So I got Jamie up at 5am and took her there and we timed it so she would be sleepy for her morning nap. Then I laid across her and recited 'Goodnite Moon' til she nodded off, and they wheeled the table under the MRI. It took a few tries but we were able to get a good test. And it turned out negative for anything- I think they were looking for Hydrocepholus or water on the brain. Scary times. That month we also found out that her case was heading for an adoption date as the parental rights were termnated. Jeesh that was an emotional time.

Benji doesn't sound like he looks

Benji Hughes was on Jimmie Kimmel live one night, and he came on stage all looking like a motorcycle dude and was I surprised that I like him, he sounded nothing like he looked - no Skynerd riffs, or guitar hero solos. He's kind of Leonard Cohen mixed with melody and weirdness and I am stuck on him. I ordered his CD within a week of listening to the free mp3 I found online.

Take a listen if you have a mind to. His Myspace page has streaming audio of four of his songs which come from his 25 song new LP 'A Love Extreme'. I like 'You Stood me Up' and 'WHy do these Parties always End the Same Way?'. Brings me back to my crazy singledom days.