Cartoon Crazies!

Who is your favorite cartoon character? My son changes his mind frequently. As for my daughter...it's Dora all the way.

I think back on all of the cartoon characters I have known and loved and some bring back some great memories. Do you remember these great shows?

Thundercats {Ho!}

The Smurfs

Rainbow Brite

Care Bears {sharing is caring}

GI Joe {because knowing is half the battle}

Jem {she's truly outrageous}

Transformers

Alvin and the Chipmunks {Before they hit the big screen}

Fraggle Rock

He-Man

Inspector Gadget {go, go gadget arms!}

The Jetsons

The Littles

Tailspin

Animaniacs {gnorf!}

Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers

Ducktales {Woo hoo!}

My question is...what happened? There were some seriously great cartoons when I was a kid. Most of them had morals to the story. You know, something you were supposed to learn in the quick 30 minute show. Alvin was always doing something naughty and Dave would show him the right way to do it at the end of the show. {BTW...do you remember the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie? Where they flew around the world in hot air balloons? Oh, it was SO good!}

Anyway, my poor kids are stuck with such dumb cartoons now. Some of them are down right inappropriate for kids too! Am I the only one that feels this way? Have you heard of these shows?

Ed, Edd and Eddy

Kids Next Door

Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

Squirrel Boy

Camp Lazlo

George of the Jungle

Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends

Spongebob

Fairly OddParents

Now, I'm not saying that ALL of these are naughty shows. But most of them are just DUMB. I know there are a lot of Spongebob fans out there...but I am not one of them. Sorry! It's MY blog, so it's MY opinion. :0) Anyway...thankfully my kid prefers to watch Scooby Doo re-runs on Cartoon Network. He had an obsession with Fairly OddParents for a while there that drove me crazy. Timmy Turner is NOT a nice boy! Sigh.

I say...bring back the shows with the warm and fuzzy lessons for our kids. Even Thundercats taught us not to be egotistical, or that family is important. Seriously....

Am I the only one with a problem here?

Walk For Babies

For those of you that don't read my family blog, you don't know that my SIL gave birth to a premature baby boy. He had some serious complications and was in the NICU for several weeks. Just this last weekend he was allowed to go home, though he is still on oxygen and hooked up to breathing monitors.

Sister Sassy did a walk for babies this last weekend and was able to raise money for this fabulous cause. So, in light of recent events, I decided to walk for the cause too! On the side bar of my blog is a link to my website. As my website explains, the money I raise for March for Babies will support lifesaving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start. The March of Dimes sees to the needs of moms and babies in our communities across the nation. What could be a better cause?

If you feel so inclined, please donate to the cause. I wouldn't ask if I didn't feel strongly about it. Just click on the link I've provided to the side of my blog here with the cute picture of a baby on it. You can donate money from there! :0) I've read several blogs where mothers have had babies prematurely, or with medical conditions and can only imagine the frustration and sadness they feel when their babies are put into the NICU. The stress involved would be intolerable.

If you are a local friend of mine, I'd love to have you join me in the walk! It's on June 14 {a Saturday} at 10:00 in the morning. We meet downtown and start the 6 mile walk from there. Go to http://www.walkforbabies.org/ to sign up. Not only would we be walking for a cause, but we'd have a great time doing it together. And think of the calories we'd burn in the process! :0) Everyone benefits right?

Sharing is Caring....

Just thought I'd share with all of you....





When my baby girl was born a couple of years back my sister-in-law, Jodie, sent me two of the most adorable baby outfits I have ever seen. Her hubby is in the Air Force and they were stationed in Europe at that time. She bought these outfits at a little boutique in FRANCE! Yes, FRANCE! :0) One of them was a cute little pink jumper and the other was brown overalls with a turquoise shirt that went underneath it.


The tags on them showed where they were purchased and so when baby was a little older and had grown out of these adorable outfits, I searched for the store online in hopes of finding other cute threads for my wee one.





Du Pareil Au Meme, or DPAM, is the name of the store and you can totally buy their stuff online! So, I bought a few more things that she could wear as she got bigger. Sadly, I forget about this website and their cute clothes until I got out the baby clothes boxes for my sister. She just had a baby girl. And now....her little one can be super sassy in French clothes too! :0)





The prices aren't bad at all, though you have to figure the price difference
between Euros and Dollars. :0) Two years ago when I bought them, there wasn't much of a difference. I got her a cute little sweater vest, a couple of pairs of pants, and a few really cute tops. Such a cutie patootie she was! :0)

So, what are you waiting for? Go check out the cute stuff! And yes, there is stuff for boys there, too. But, my boy is 8, so he's not wanting to be cute anymore. :0)

Flashback Friday Week 7: The Late Edition

Sorry....I know I missed last weeks flashback, and I'm a day late this week. It's been crazy! Just read back to last week and you'll understand. :0) This week, well...if you really must know, I had to write a paper on Capital Punishment. No, that is not what this post is about. If you want to discuss controversial issues, hop on over to my brother's blog. He's all over that, and honestly, I think he's jealous that I'm taking this class and he's not. :0)

Anyway...we last left off in 5th grade and Combes, TX where I almost got beat up. Remember now? We moved that summer to Harlingen, TX and I went to Austin Elementary for my 6th grade year. Again....I don't remember my teachers' names. We rotated classrooms, so I had four teachers. My english teacher was my most memorable one, and she is the reason I'm so anal when it comes to english. I got an 89 every. single. report card. An 89! Not an A, a B+! Sigh. She was STRICT with her english and I had to memorize every single preposition and dissect sentences....wow.

Sixth grade was when I discovered boys. Sigh. Cute boys....Cody, Lance, Michael....yeah. Cute. Secret crushes. They could NEVER know! :0)

For school the sixth grade had to group up and make up dances to songs from the 50s. So, me and my friends made up a dance to:

"Chantilly Lace and a pretty face, A pony tail, hanging down.

A wiggle and a walk, A giggle and a talk

Makes the world go round

There ain't nothin' in the world like a big eyed girl

Makes me act so funny, makes me spend my money

Makes me feel real loose, like a long necked goose

I like a girl
OH BABY THAT'S A WHAT I LIKE!"

Only a few of the groups were selected to perform at the school carnival, and my group was one of those selected. After that we were asked to make up another dance and perform it at one of the teacher inservice meetings after school.

That summer was the first year I got to go to girls camp. I wasn't quite 12....my birthday was the week after camp, but they allowed me to go anyway. My mom was the Stake YW President, so she was there, and my older sister was a 4th year, AND my dad was there too. So, it wasn't like I was going off alone or anything. But it was so fun! :0) Unfortunately, our camp {remember this is in Texas} was in tarantula territory and so they were EVERYWHERE! At night when we'd have to go from our cabin to the bathrooms to brush our teeth, we'd have to shine the flashlight at our feet to keep from stepping on them. I remember hearing girls scream as they'd see one come close. It was creepy! The cabin next to ours had one get inside. THEY LET IT STAY IN THERE TOO! Weirdos! My friend, Melanie, and I found one outside of our cabin one day and threw rocks at it until it was dead. It was NOT getting inside our cabin. No way....jose! We then buried it...because my 11 year old little brain was sure that if Mr. Spider's friends came along and saw what we did...they would come and get us. Did I mention I have arachnaphobia? :0)

That summer my family also decided to move to Idaho. Though it was exciting to think we would be living next to cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents....I was really sad to leave my friends behind. This time, not only were we moving, but it was a 2000 mile difference. And I was going into Jr. High this time. So, the thought of finding new friends in Jr. High was even scarier.

My Jogging Mix

Thanks so much to everyone who shared their favorite exercise songs. I took my new list out jogging/speed walking last night and found them to be super satisfactory. Here's my picks!

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
Clumsy by Fergie
Defying Gravity from Wicked
Get Ready by The Proclaimers
Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne
Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani
I Don't Wanna Be In Love by Good Charlotte
I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick
Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett
Love Today by Mika
Make That Money Robi Rob's Clubworld
Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic
Suddenly I See KT Tunstall
The Power by Snap!
Whiney Whiney by Willi One Blood
You Sexy Thing by Deee-Lite


So, what do you think? An interesting mix, I know. But, as you have learned I love almost ALL kinds of music. And the words inside of the music have some serious power over us. Which is why I chose 'You Sexy Thing'. :0) Maybe it will give me that motivation I need to get my sexy on. :0)

Pump Up The Jam

Do you remember that song?

OK, ladies....and Cameron {tee hee}, I went jogging FOR REAL a couple of nights ago.

{Yes, I missed yesterday because my thighs were so sore from my first adventure out that there was no way I was going to live through a double header. I'll give it another go tonight. :0) }

Oh, wait, first I have to explain that my STUPID iPod died this last weekend. Best Buy will not take it back and replace it for me. I have to contact the manufacturer. And since I'm not ready to deal with the annoying "hold" music, I haven't called in to let them know my problems. :0)

{I wonder if since I was on hold for so long they'll take care of some of my other problems too...just a thought.}

So, I grab the hubby's iPod he uses when he jogs and run out the door. I turn it on to the first song and get Avril Lavigne "Girlfriend" {you're singing it in your head now aren't you?} and am pleased with the beat of this song. It's peppy, and a good tempo for me to jog along with. I am doing pretty good. That song lasts exactly 3 minutes and 37 seconds. When that song ended....I was left with Depeche Mode and Def Leppard.

His jogging music sucks.

So, as I was thinking this over {and deciding if I should totally take over his iPod until I get mine fixed} and wondered what songs to add to his "mix".

So, I'm taking a poll here. What are your favorite exercise songs. Do you have a workout mix you use that gets you pumped? If so, spill the beans! I have a huge music library, but what makes a great workout song? After the other night I realize my sappy little songs aren't going to cut it. I need a great beat, and something spunky!

I'm impatiently waiting for your ideas so that I can take over {I mean, borrow} Jaysen's iPod again for this evenings attempt at jogging.

8 Week Challenge....3 Week Update

OK, so I am in Week 3 {is that right?} of my 8 week challenge. Go here to see what this is all about. For this week's mi-week check-in, Sassy tried something different. Here's what she had to say....

"What I'd like to know is what you intend to do for you during this 8-week challenge.

But this is what I have to say to you. You are only as good as you believe you are and believe you deserve. If you don't think you're worth taking care of, then you're going to project that image of yourself to others.
Be an inspiration for yourself, love yourself, give to yourself. If you start treating yourself as you treat others I bet you'll see a change in how you feel. "

Her point was that we all give to others. ALL THE TIME. Sometimes it feels like we forget about ourselves. I through spurts with this. Every now and again I need reminding that I'm not just good for helping with homework, fixing dinner, and taking care of the families needs {i.e. dishes, laundry, cleaning}. It can be overwhelming at times. But, am I setting the stage for this? Am I enabling myself and my family to expect this kind of thing? And who am I outside of being the momma?

We tend to let things that were once important to us fall by the wayside once we have children. Some things we let go of are ok to put aside. But we can't completely give up ourselves either. We are an important part of our family. We are THE MOMMA'S! hear us roar! :0) We need to give to ourselves as well. Perhaps we just set aside some time for ourselves, or we go out with our girlfriends once a month. Or, do we really GIVE to ourselves.....

Once Sassy reaches the halfway point in this challenge, she is going to treat herself to a massage. Which sounds fabulous!

The point of this challenge is NOT just to lose weight. It is a self-image challenge. How we view ourselves. What we can do to change our self-image. Whether it be to jump start a great eating plan or exercise regime, or to just work on US.

So, back to this week's mid-week check-in. What am I going to do for me during this challenge? And honestly, this question was really hard for me. I'm great at making sure my kids and hubby are taken care of. What's that you say? A friend in need? I'm on it! And though I do loves me some fab shoes every now and again, that's about all the "me time" that goes on around here. I do shower daily, but hair done? make-up done? not a chance most days. I figure why bother?

BUT! I think I'm going to bother. When I am D-O-N-E, done with this challenge...I am going out for a pedicure. Two words for you....acrylic....toes. I haven't had my toes done fancy since I was pregnant with Mackenzee. She's 2 1/2 now. Sigh. BUT! Those babies last FOREVER. {OK, not literally, but for a really long time} and they are super cute. I miss cute toes. :0(

So, there you have it ladies! In 5 1/2 weeks I'll have sassy toes. Maybe I'll post a picture...if you're lucky. :0)

Sanity still intact!

Yes, this is the dining room I was describing in this post I wrote the other day. The floor is done! And it really only took Friday night and Saturday to get it all done!

Thanks to the brilliance of our friend, Zach, the whole thing was done {including putting the baseboards back on} by 6:00-ish on Saturday night. The installation part anyway. jaysen and I spent Friday night ripping out the carpet and old vinyl that used to be there and had a fun time pulling out the board that the old vinyl was glued to. Unfortunately they had installed the cabinets ON TOP of this board {which is not the norm}. We were grateful to have Brandon down in the basement to guide us through the should do's and should not do's and also for the use of his fancy electric saw so that we could cut around the cabinets to get the boards out. {Don't you just love the unexpected?}

Anyway...the floor was all ready for the expertise of Zach and with him there, Jaysen was able to do his "man" duty and be tool-ish {which doesn't happen around here!} and they got it installed in no time.

I'd also like to take a minute here to thank dear Holly {Zach's wife} who let us steal her hubby for the entire day. Even though he is an accountant and tax season just got over {That means she just started seeing him again!} and even though she was gone for three days this last week and got home on Friday. You rock Holly! OH! And for letting me invade your home for a few hours at the end of the day. We ran out of things to do to keep the kids busy, so thanks for letting us come over and play. We hope you liked the shredded beef tacos we fed you for dinner. :0)

Yes, that means I was even actually able to eat dinner in my new kitchen/dining room! I plopped the meat and seasonings in my crockpot before we left the house yesterday morning and when I got home at 5:30....it smelled delicious! Easy as pie dinner. Good stuff!

Anyway...just thought I'd share my excitement with you after I went off on the hubby for his insaneness of destroying my home for the weekend. I lived. {obviously} And I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new kitchen floors! :0) I don't even need the floor runner to hide the scuff marks the old owner left behind! It's amazing!

Hope your weekend was a good one too!

Words of Affirmation

First of all, I would just like to say

THANK YOU!

to all my inter-peeps who left me such warm fuzzies yesterday. I have calmed down and am now a survivor of my latest mental breakdown. :0)

And for those of you who had such awesome posts for me to read that helped to life my spirits. If you need a laugh...go check out Gab's post today or Utmomof5. After all, laughter is the best medicine right? OR, if you are needing a little lifting up, go read Honey Bunch's latest post about shedding your coat. It won't make sense until you go read it, so hop on over there {make sure you come back though!} OR, if you are in need of affirmation. Knowing you aren't the only one having a bad day...go visit Kelly or Katie. They've been having a rough week too.

That's one of the best parts about this blogging world we "live" in. It's like built in therapy sometimes. I can rant and rave, or post about a bad day, or tell a funny story, and someone....somewhere will read it and a connection will be made. They'll "get it". Just like me reading all of your posts. Warm fuzzies all over the place in the blogosphere! You can get the affirmation you are in need of and be told that "everything will be ok" like your mom did when you were a kid.

Hope you all have a fabulous day! I'll be prepping my kitchen/dining room for destruction all while shopping for a new dishwasher, finishing my final project, and entertaining a two year old.

OCD alert! I need help!

I'm not kidding! The chaos that is my home is about to drive me batty. We moved into this house the first weekend of August. 8 months ago. Though this house is bigger than our last {because of the basement}, the upstairs level we are currently living on is smaller than the single level home we came from. Does that make sense? If not, let me spell it out for you....We came from a four bedroom house and crammed us into 1300 sq ft and three bedrooms.

We were already crammed into our last house, because when we got married, the hubby had a three bedroom house full of stuff, and I had a three bedroom apartment FULL of stuff. Yeah....Though we did get rid of a lot of stuff, we added another kid to our happy little family, which added her stuff to our mix. Again...does this make sense? My brain is on overload here.

So, we moved in, and everything we didn't "NEED" we kept in boxes and put it in the garage.

Yes, this means we have not been able to park in our garage. Or walk in it. Or get to anything in those boxes.

Life was "manageable". Sure, the computer desk had to be put in the dining room. Sure, there was no room for my scrapbooking supplies {I have a lot!}. But, we would manage, right? Sigh.

As I have previously explained, I have OCD tendencies. I can't handle chaos and clutter. It drives me insane. For four months, I did ok. But then I needed to get into my scrap supplies for Christmas projects. And half of my crafty supplies ended up being stacked along the wall in my dining room.

Don't even ask how we managed to find a place for a Christmas tree. But, it was only for one month right?

Then we started construction on the basement. Hallelujah! The end was in sight. We started the end of January. All of the things that we had stored in the basement {because the garage was full} had to be moved upstairs. Those items now line the wall in my dining room along with the rest of my stuff. {are you picturing this?}

So, we are crammed up to our noses in our own "stuff". There is a continual layering of sheet rock dust all over my furniture. I dust, and it magically reappears just like that *snapping fingers*.

We are almost three months into this whole construction thing. Next week we get texture and paint. We are near the end! But, we have been near the end for weeks now. I am frustrated. And, more than that...I am on the edge of insanity! It hasn't helped that all of this has taken place in the middle of winter and then our fabulous winter/spring we've got going on. Cold weather means we are stuck inside this hole.

I need to put everything away. You don't understand. My brain has tried to shut it all out. But, it's screaming at me now. My brain....won't be quiet. So, today....instead of working on my final projects like a good little student {I have to have them done by tomorrow} I got out the carpet cleaner.....and scrubbed. My couches, my carpet....for two hours. The couches made sense. Except that I have visiting teachers coming in about 45 minutes and my couches are still wet. Where are they going to sit? My brain didn't care! AND...we are replacing ALL of the carpet in the house when we put in the carpet for downstairs. We figured we'd just go all the way up the stairs and finish the house. The carpet here is b-a-d BAD. Gross! Not kidding. So, why did I clean the carpets? My brain told me to. Nothing is coming out of this carpet. We had them cleaned before we even moved in. Nothing is coming out of these fibers. Yet....I scrubbed. On my hands and knees because just pushing the vacuum part wasn't good enough. I used the upholstery attachment for couches....on the carpet.

Now, I know most of you are shaking your heads at this. You are thinking....she is INSANE. She is looney! You're right! But I can't help it. Things have to be JUST SO, and for 8 months THEY HAVEN'T BEEN! I can only take so much.

The hubby laughs at me. He walked in as I was scrubbing on the couches and just shook his head. He knew I had finally broke.

To make matters worse....tomorrow night he is tearing apart my kitchen and dining room so we can install hard wood floors on Saturday. Can I tell you how much I am freaking out over this? More chaos! More mess! I think I might just explode. And I'm not kidding. I told him I might just need to leave the house for the weekend. He asked where I was going....not a clue. Seriuosly...not a clue. But I don't know that I will be able to handle being here.

Let me further explain this one....

All of those things I told you were crammed into my dining room? Yeah....they will have to be moved somewhere else...along with the dining room table and six chairs, china cabinet, refrigerator and stove. Where will they be put? In my living room. Which means there will be nowhere to "be". My living room is tiny. Just enough room for couches and a coffee table. And since the family room is currently being built in the basement...we have crammed the tv into the living room. So, there will just be stacks of all our stuff...in the living room. While he destroys my kitchen and attempts to reassemble it.

So, this is an OCD alert! I need help. Talk me down! I'm not even kidding just a little bit. I can't even go and eat a tub of oreo cookie ice cream to make me feel better because I'm on an 8 week challenge!

This is my story. My story of chaos, clutter, construction, finals week, and....my OCD.

help.

Tips For the Food Junkie In You...

Just found this on my Yahoo! home page. And since I'm on my eight week challenge....I thought this might be handy. I'm adding in my thoughts on some of these too....

Here are five simple food swaps that can help you lose more than 10 pounds in the next six weeks.
1. Stick to one serving of cereal. For most people, a typical pour of breakfast cereal is equal to two servings. If you're trying to lose weight, trim calories by accurately measuring one serving into your bowl (usually that means ¾ - 1 cup, however, cereal serving sizes vary so you must regularly check the package labeling on your favorite brands and varieties).
For those who eat a daily bowl of breakfast cereal, follow my lead, and you'll save about 150 calories by cutting back on cereal and at least 50 calories in extra milk every morning. That's 8,400 calories saved and 2.5 pounds lost at the end of six weeks!

Watch your cereals too. Those that appear to be super healthy are heavy on the fat grams per serving. Regular granola has about 8 grams of fat per 1/2 cup serving! When you're only allowed 50-60 grams of fat per day, that can add up. Low fat granola only has 3 grams of fat per serving and still tastes super yummy! The Blueberry Kashi cereal is a really good one too. Give those a try.
2. Skip your late night snack. We all feel the need to munch in the evening, and although a p.m. snack can be perfectly appropriate (diet-friendly p.m. snacks should not exceed 150 calories), for many people, the evening tends to be the time of day we blow it on calorie overload - comfort food central; ice cream, cookies, potato chips, popcorn and more!
On average, people gobble down way more than 250 calories after 8 p.m. Exercise some willpower and skip your nighttime snack altogether. Sip an herbal tea, floss/brush your teeth and close down the kitchen for the evening. You'll save at least 250 calories each day and after six weeks, you'll have cut 10,500 calories and dropped three whole pounds!
Evenings are the worst for me. I just want to munch on stuff. it's easy to just say to grab a sack of baby carrots, but that doesn't take care of my cravings AT ALL. And, as we have all learned about me, I have absolutely no will power. Try sucking on a lifesaver or jolly rancher. Yes, it's sugar, but not nearly as bad for you as the EXTRA BUTTER popcorn, or hot fudge sundae treats. If you need a chocolate fix, try a handful of tootise rolls.

3. Scratch the butter/margarine. Cut out a total of one tablespoon of regular butter or margarine from your toast, veggies, potatoes, dinner rolls, etc. each day. At 100 calories per tablespoon, you'll save 4,200 calories and drop over one pound in six weeks. What if you can't give up the butter or margarine? At least switch to a soft tub spread that says "reduced fat" and "trans-fat free" on the label - it's half the calories of the full fat versions, so you'll still drop over ½ pound.
I'm not a fan of margarine. It's SO not good for you. When I bake, I bake with butter. If I need to put butter on a piece of bread or on a pancake....I use the "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" fat free spritzer. It's in a little squirt bottle. There is absolutely NO nutritional value to it, BUT that means there is no fat or calories involved either. No, it's not anywhere near as tasty as a slathering of butter, BUT at least you get something.

4. Lose the mayo and cheese on your sandwich Omit the slice of cheese and mayonnaise on your sandwich (use mustard instead - only five calories per teaspoon) and you'll save about 200 calories per sandwich. If you eat a sandwich a day, you'll end up saving 8,400 calories and find yourself 2.5 pounds lighter after just six weeks.
I eat a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich every day for lunch. Boring...I know. BUT! since mayo is bad for you and the fat free stuff doesn't taste very good, making it a warm sammy makes it possible to lose the mayo without sacrificing that good sammy flavor. I have done the cold sammy with mustard {that's how I take it at Subway}, but it's just not the same. Now, I don't know about you, but I can't get rid of my cheese. It's too good. BUT! They do make fat free sliced cheese. So, if I buy the 98% fat free sliced turkey and use 100% fat free cheese and put it on a 1.5 gram of fat bagel and spray it with my fat free butter.....it's a very low fat lunch indeed!

5. Delete the extras: It's amazing how much extra food we can munch on without realizing it - a grab of this/that off our kid's plate, an extra packet of ketchup or salad dressing, a bite of your co-worker's dessert... before you know it, you've consumed an extra 800 calories!
Be super mindful and delete the "extras" and you'll be able to trim a significant amount of calories off your weekly total. Also, pay attention to your beverages (alcohol included) - as well as what's going into your coffee and tea. By trimming 1000 extra calories off each week (about 150 per day), you'll save a total of 6000 calories and drop 1.75 pounds at the end of six weeks!
This is where I struggle. The "extras". I'm a muncher. I love sweets. I try to keep lots of bananas on hand so that if I get a craving for something sweet I can eat one of those. As far as condiments go...use ketchup instead of fry sauce. Salad dressing is BAD for you! Too much fat. Try Fat Free Catalina. It's good! I can't handle fat free Ranch. yuck!

Follow all five tips and you'll potentially lose more than 10 pounds at the end of six short weeks. Here's the math: 2.5 pounds + 3 pounds + 1 pound + 2.5 pounds + 1.75 pound = 10+ pounds lost!

It sounds easy right? I don't foresee me losing 10 pounds in the next six weeks. BUT! I'm not looking at my scale remember? I'm looking for less jiggle! I've got my exercising in for yesterday and today! I ate a naughty lunch, so that means less naughty dinner than what I had planned. But, when the hubby calls and wants to take you on a lunch date you can't say no right? :0)

How are the rest of you doing? I know there were a couple of you that wanted to participate. have you started yet? What are your goals?

8 Week Challenge....Are You Ready?

My blogging buddies, Sisters Sassy and Honey Bunch, have extended a challenge. It's an

8 week challenge. I am one week into this challenge. The idea is this: we all want a healthy body AND a healthy body image. We don't have to be stick figure supermodels to be healthy. {I honestly think those people are some of the most unhealthy people on the planet} So, you set some goals for yourself...and you give yourself 8 weeks to get going on it already! :0)

My goals were this:

I, Ashlee, am going to get FIERCE! Which means {dang it!} I'm going to have to start exercising and actually stick with it. Sigh. Don't I sound motivated? And...less sugar. BUT, everything in moderation. We all read on my blog what happens when I try to deprive myself of sugar. :0)

If you don't know what FIERCE means...let me tell you my definition. I'm not looking to lose oodles of weight. I know I need to drop some pounds, but I'm trying not to focus on that. I'd rather focus on replacing the ripples of fat with bulging muscles. {Ok, maybe not BULGING, but toned!} I don't want to jiggle anymore! Can I get an "amen" here?

Week 1 of this challenge went smashingly. I watched my calorie intake, exercised four days, and lost {Tah dah!} three pounds! I was very pleased with myself and was so excited with that number on the scale.

And then we had Girls Night. More specifically, DEATH BY CHOCOLATE Girls Night. It was fabulous and I exhibited absolutely NO self control. I ate chocolate. It was so yummy! I ate an almost fat free, low calorie dinner before I went in an attempt to fill my tummy so I wouldn't eat so much. It didn't really work. :0(

And then the hubby went away for the weekend to play in a golf tournament up in Boise {He took second by the way!} When the hubby's away, the wife....doesn't really cook. The kids would rather I just warm up some chicken nuggets or make some mac and cheese. Why bother cooking? So, we ate like crap AND we made chocolate chip cookies. Guess who ate most of them? Sigh. There's that lack of will power again.

I told myself that I was going to jump back on the bandwagon on Monday. I didn't. I didn't exercise and I didn't stay away from TOO MUCH sugar. I have gained back two of the three pounds I lost. I'm pretty much back where I started. Sigh.

And then, Sassy posts today about accountability. For our goals in this challenge. She sent out yet another challenge for us to post about this on our own blogs. What? Then I'll really have to try! Not that I wasn't trying before, but there are people that live around here and see me that read this blog. They'll be watching.....

Maybe that's just the motivation I need. :0) Thanks Sassy!

So, as I was writing this I realized that some of you have no clue what I even look like. :0) Wierd huh? So, I took some picture of myself so you'd know what I started at. These were taken by myself...so they aren't the nicest pictures...

This is me! I thought about getting all dolled up for you. Putting on make up and curling my hair. But that would be presenting a false image of myself. This is what I look like almost every single day. Hair NOT done, make-up NOT on. I'm a stay at home mom. My kids don't care if my hair is curled. :0)

And this is almost ALL of me. The daughter wanted in on the photo shoot. Gotta love the Cheeto face! :0) This is my usual attire. Jeans and a tshirt with my hair pulled back in a bun. Sexy huh? Isn't black supposed to be slimming?

So, since I'm baring myself to all of you....I figured I might as well pass along the challenge. What are your self image goals?

I'll keep you posted on my results. Hopefully there are some actual results to share. :0) At least there isn't a death by chocolate night in my near future.

Must See TV

I am so excited! Two of the shows I have watched on the USA network have been transferred to NBC! They are apparently SO fabulous, that they were too good for basic cable. :0) They wanted EVERYONE to be able to see. :0)

First, there is Monk. {Doesn't he kind of look creepy in this picture?} This show has been around for a while and won several awards. If you haven't seen it, you are missing out. I wouldn't say that it is my MOST FAVORITE show, but he makes me laugh. He is OCD taken to a whole other level. He has to have a personal assistant with him to even get through his day {offering hand sanitizer and wipes to clean off his hands if he has to shake hands with someone}. He is a detective, so it's a "cop show", but not like Law and Order cop show...you know? If you go to www.nbc.com/Monk/exclusives there is a fun little 10 question quiz that lets you know how "Monk-ish" you are. Here's my results...

"Wow! You're definitely more concerned with cleanliness and routine than the average person. This keeps you well organized, but your friends are probably making jokes about you behind your back. Take a deep breath, leave the hand sanitizer at home, go totally nuts and actually step on the cracks of the sidewalk once in a while. You'll see it's fun to occasionally break out of your comfortable cocoon."

But you already knew that about me right? :0) BTW...if you haven't watched the show, you won't know that Monk CAN'T step on the cracks in the sidewalk. He truly is an OCD freak. :0)

The other show they transferred over is Psych. It's about this guy who has a cop for a dad. His dad drilled him over and over again on how to be a good detective, but the guy is a slacker. Anyway...long story short....because he has wicked awesome detective skills he pretends to be a psychic and works for the police department. He is hilarious. I actually prefer this show over Monk. The actors do such a good job, especially the main character. And his trusty sidekick offers just enough cynicism into the story to make you laugh at the odd pairing.

If you go to www.nbc.com/Psych/exclusives you can take a quick test to see if you are more like Shawn, the fake psychic and spastic main character OR if you are more like Gus, the practical and cynical one. Here's my results....

"You are a Burton Guster in disguise. You're organized and generally satisfied with your life, but secretly want more adventure. Luckily, you let yourself try new things once in a while and are always rewarded for stepping out of your comfort zone. So don't let your urge to be constantly in control dictate your every move, or you'll unleash the inner Gus! Let your curiosity penetrate your buttoned up lifestyle now and then, and you'll be perfectly balanced"

Are we seeing a pattern here? Sheesh!

Anyway...these shows play on Sunday night on NBC. If you are a tv watcher...I'd give them a go. They're nothing like Heroes {my favorite tv show}, but they offer a good laugh and a good whodunnit/clues lead to the answer kind of show. Happy tv watching!

Just for clarification.....

There are a lot of posts out there about the FLDS faith and what happened to them. I don't know if any of you have actually read those posts or not. If, for any reason, any of you are curious or wondering.....let me guide you to a couple of GOOD ones. :0)

This one explains our frustration as women of the LDS faith {notice that LDS is different from FLDS} For those of you unaware of what LDS means, it stand for Latter Day Saint. FLDS means Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint. They left our church in the 1930s because we refused to allow the practice of polygamy. {Source: Wikipedia} "The FLDS Church and the LDS Church are distinct and separate religious denominations, having no official ties or connections."

This one is my favorite so far. We, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are not freaks. {Much to the surprise of many :0) } AND, we do not practice the same faith as those portrayed in the news.

Now, on a different note here...I do want to say that my heart goes out to all the innocent involved. I can only imagine the fear that the children are feeling as they have been taken away from the only lives they have ever known. My heart hurts for these children. They are the innocent in all of this.

Anyway...just thought I would share these blog posts with you. I usually don't get too religious or political in my blog. But, this was something I felt should be passed on. Too many people have too many questions about a connection that does not exist between the FLDS and LDS faiths.

Have a happy Sunday!

Flashback Friday Week 6

Where did we leave off?

Oh, that's right...Brownsville. This is where I have to start thinking. We moved a lot around in this time frame and so it's hard for me to remember where we went next.

We moved from Brownsville to Combes, TX I believe. Basically a little itty bitty speck of a town out in the middle of nowhere. We lived in a fabulous house. It was huge! At least to a 10 year old. I had to share a bedroom with my little sister, but the room was so big, it didn't even make much of a difference. We went to Wilson Elementary School. I was in the 5th grade. Sadly, I don't remember my teachers' name. I remember my class was made up mostly of hispanic kids. There were only a couple of us that weren't. I was the minority. :0) It was a tough school. Tough kids. I almost got beat up on the playground one day.

In the lunch room, we weren't allowed to give other kids the food off of our own plates. Even if we didn't want it. I don't know why...that's just what the rules were. People still snuck food to each other though. I saw somebody give another kid in my class their hot dog. The cafeteria monitor caught them, but the kids denied it. She asked me if I saw them. I told the truth. Like a good little girl. Out on the playground, the older sister of the boy that ended up getting in trouble, started to pick a fight with me. I don't know if I was naive, or just plain stupid, but I stood my ground. I hadn't done anything wrong and I thought the girl was dumb. The other girls in my class kept telling me to shut up because they knew the other girl would beat the crap out of me. For some reason, {again I'm thinking stupidity}, I wasn't scared of her. She ended up just walking away. Nothing happened.

This was when I was obsessed with the New Kids On The Block. I loved Joey McIntyre. He was my favorite. My best friend, Melanie, and I would watch their concerts on video tape, and listen to their tapes all the time. She even had an NKOTB party at her house. The wall at the head of my bed had a poster of all of them, and then surrounding that were smaller pictures of each of them. I even had the buttons. Oh yeah....Did you hear they were going to try to make a come back now?

This was also the year my Grandma Robinson died of cancer. We flew back up to Idaho to go to her funeral. I don't remember too much about it. The grandkids sang 'I Am A Child Of God' at the funeral. If I remember correctly, my dad spoke. My grandma was an elementary school teacher. Just like my dad. :0)

That year at school, there was a 6th grader that had a crush on me. It was horrible. His nickname was "The Boogerman". Why? Because even though he was almost 12, he still picked his nose. ALL. THE. TIME. Eeeeewwww! I remember they had cupcake sales at school for Valentine's Day. You know, so you could buy one and have it delivered to your friends or "sweetheart" {this is wierd looking back on it, because we were in elementary school!} Well, he bought one for me and it was delivered to me in front of my entire class. I was so embarrased! Everyone knew it was from the boogerman too. So, I did what any ten year old girl would do to save face, I threw it in the garbage. I couldn't very well EAT it! That would mean that I liked it. Which would mean that people would think that I liked HIM. And....there was always the question of whether or not he touched it with his booger fingers. Kind of gross.

My favorite outfit to wear to school was this dress that had flourescent stripes on it. It was one of those that kind of hung over one of your shoulders. I thought I was SO COOL.

Definitely good times in my first double digit year. :0)

And the results are in!

Sniff...Sniff....

That's me being sad, if you didn't catch on. My very first contest to win a prize on my blog and it fails. *Sniff* Nobody guess me right. I guess I talk too much about my OCD. :0)

I am.....a GOAT. That's right. Or, even a GOTA. Either guess would have won some yummy chocolate. The last two personalities were tied at 14. Giver was a 28 and Organizer was a 24. So, Giver barely beat out Organizer.

There was a question on how to be more balanced. My text says this:

"Build skill areas that don't come so easily to you." If you are an adventurer and NOT an organizer, you should focus on organization and follow-through. Slow down a bit. Not saying that you should give up who you are, but if you are wanted to be more well rounded, this is how to do it.

For me....I need to learn to be more flexible. THAT'S HARD! I like routine, and veering off the plan stresses me out. But, some spontaniety is fun and will probably help to loosen me up a bit. {I know the hubby would like that a little better!} AND, I need to try to be a more abstract thinker. Meaning...think outside the box. I don't even know how to start doing that one. My brain doesn't work that way AT ALL. I don't even usually process that there might be something beyond the established boundaries. Sigh.

This personality test was geared more for how you should apply yourself. If you know WHO you are {based on the results on the previous post} you know HOW you are. Does that make sense? You now know what to do to make things easier for you, and what just won't work out for you. :0)

ANYWAY....what do you think of my results? It was interesting for me to see your take on my personality. I realize most of you only get to know me based on what I write about. But, now you know...I'm emotional, I talk too much, I trust too much, I'm a romatic at heart, and I love music {but you already knew that last part}. And yes, I'm an organizer too. I love that I am predictable. How lame is that? People pretty much know what to expect of me. I may get mocked for it {and I do} but, most aren't too surprised. {Except for Montay, who is probably getting to know a little bit TOO much about my quirkiness. She may not want to be my friend anymore.} :0)

Personally, I think....

All right, I promised descriptions, so I must deliver. You guys do want to know what your results from yesterdays test actually mean right?

Thinker:
Good at solving problems and developing systems. You are analytical and like to explore ideas and potentials. You tend to go beyond established boundaries seeking a "universal truth". You should find time to reflect independantly on life. You work better independently too.
Words to describe your personality: technical, scientific, mathematical, dispassionate, rational, analytical, logical, theoretical, intellectual, objective, quantitative, explicit, realistic, literal, precise, and formal.

Organizer:
You operate successfully within social structures. YOu are responsible, efficient, and reliable. You pay attention to details and like to keep things neat and organized. You have a strong sense of loyalty, history, culture, and dignity. You always follow through with tasks. You thrive in a well-structured, stable environment.
Words to describe your personality: tactical, planning, detailed, practical, confident, predictable, controlled, dependable, systematic, structured, conservative, disciplined, procedural, and administrative.

Giver:
You are honest and authentic. You are successful in your close relationships and want to make a difference in the world. You have cultivating potential of yourself and of others. You have the gift of negotiation and manipulation, and like to use these gifts to promote peace. You are open in your communication with others. You should put energy into your most important relationship and seek out groups and tasks that involve helping people.
Words to describe your personality: Interpersonal, emotional, caring, sociable, giving, spiritual, musical, romantic, feeling, peacemaker, trusting, adaptable, passionate, harmonious, idealistic, talkative, and honest.

Adventurer:
You are courageous and daring. You tend to live in the present, liking spontaneity and action. You are a "hands-on" problem solver and have the ability to negotiate with others. You are flexible and have a zest for life. You don't like to do things the traditional way. You should seek people whom you find stimulating, even if you disagree with their viewpoints.
Words to describe your personality: active, visual, risking, original, artistic, spatial, skillful, impulsive, experimental, fast-paced, competitive, imaginative, open-minded, and
adventuresome.

So, do the descriptions fit you? What do you think? And, I'm going to have to give you all another chance, because none of you got me JUST RIGHT. REmember....all four personality descriptions in the right order from most like me to least like me.

Am I thinker, organizer, giver, adventurer?

Or am I an organizer, giver, adventurer, thinker?

Or am I something else? I have a fabulous prize picked out for you! I can't wait to put it in the mail! :0) One of you was on the right track......

So, tell me what you think. About the results and about what you think my results were. Do you think the test is factual?

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That...

So, do you all remember reading about this? I turned in two different brackets this year. I played against my brother in his group and against my hubby in his group.

And....the results are in!

I totally beat my brother. TOTALLY. He had picked UCLA to win, so he lost out when they did in the final four. :0) I actually won first place in that group! Yahoo! Me! A girl! Who knows nothing about these teams! That's right. I'm rubbing it in, Cam. {He told me I suck, I think he's just jealous}

As far as the hubby's group...there were 20 of us that turned in a bracket. When it got down to the final game, the scores were tallied to see who would be competing for the $100 pot {yes, we totally put our $5 in on this one...so sue us!} It turned out that it was between Jaysen and myself {I was tied with his dad} Crazy huh? So, yeah. We had the game on last night and I was rooting for my team, and he was cheering on his team. At the end of the game I asked him if he wanted to up the ante a little bit because the score was so close. He refused. {chicken!}

Turned out he should have. He was rooting for Kansas and his dad and I were hoping that Memphis would win. And, if you watched the game, you know that Kansas beat the Tigers in overtime. :0( That's ok though. :0) Again...this year I came in second place! Out of 20! A bunch of guys who think they know it all about basketball lost to me! :0) Again...yes, I am gloating. :0)

Now...for a little bit of THAT. :0)

I wish they had this test online for you to take, but I couldn't find it. So, you'll have to take it the way I did. I had to do this for school and thought it was rather interesting. :0) Basically rank order all 4 respsonses to each question from MOST LIKE YOU (4) to LEAST LIKE YOU (1) so that for each question you use the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 one time each. Place numbers next to the responses.

4=Most like me 3=More like me 2=Less like me 1=Least like me

1. I like instructors who

• (a)tell me exactly what is expected of me.
• (b)make learning active and exciting
• (c)maintain a safe and supportive classroom
• (d)challenge me to think at higher levels

2. I learn best when the material is

• (a)well organized
• (b)something I can do hands-on
• (c)about understanding and improving the human condition
• (d)intellectually challenging

3. A high priority in my life is to

• (a)keep my commitments
• (b)experience as much of life as possible
• (c)make a difference in the lives of others
• (d)understand how things work

4. Other people think of me as

• (a)dependable and loyal
• (b)dynamic and creative
• (c)caring and honest
• (d)intelligent and inventive

5. When I experience stress I would most likely

• (a)do something to help me feel more in control of my life
• (b)do something physical and daring
• (c)talk with a friend
• (d)go off by myself and think about my situation

6. I would probably not be close friends with someone who is

• (a)irresponsible
• (b)unwilling to try new things
• (c)selfish and unkind to others
• (d)an illogical thinker

7. My vacations could be described as

• (a)traditional
• (b)adventuresome
• (c)pleasing to others
• (d)a new learning experience

8. One word that best describes me is

• (a)sensible
• (b)spontaneous
• (c)giving
• (d)analytical

Ok...now add up the total points for each letter.

A= B= C= D=

Which letter has the biggest number?

• A=Organizer
• B=Adventurer
• C=Giver
• D=Thinker

So, what personality type are you? I'll post the descriptions of your personality type tomorrow. :0) Mine was spot on! It was crazy. It also shows you your "low" areas. Things you can work on so that you can become a "well balanced person". I don't know if I will ever be WELL BALANCED, but hey...

So, what do you think my personality type is? How about we make it a game? Whoever guesses my first, second, third and then fourth personality types {in the correct order} FIRST wins a PRIZE! Oh yeah!

Am I a thinker? It's been getting pretty deep around here lately! Am I an organizer? We all know I have OCD problems. :0) Or how about a giver? I do love to help other people. Or maybe I'm an adventurer....me and my daughter go on Dora Adventures all the time! :0) What do you think?

Can't wait to see what you guys guess. And I want to know your results too! All four! Then I'll really KNOW you, right? :0) Happy quizzing!

Tales of a Soccer Mom....

....Or basketball mom, or baseball mom....or whatever!

Landon loves to play sports and be active. He loves art and music too. I want to help him to enjoy these things he loves so much. So, what do I do? I enroll him in piano lessons, art classes {sometimes}, soccer, basketball, golf, and there were the months last year he was in gymnastics {to help him build self confidence}. Currently, my son is busy Tuesdays and Thursdays with piano lessons and Cub Scouts. Soccer season just started. The games are twice a week. Golf season has just kicked off in our house too. I have PTA on Tuesday nights as well. I'm the treasurer, so the first two Tuesdays of each month are set aside for PTA meetings. The first Thursday of every month is Girls Night for me. :0) EVERY Thursday night from now until the fall is Golf League for the hubby. Landon is gone every other weekend to go be with his dad, too. Which means that every other Friday night is Road Trip time, as well as every other Sunday to meet to pick him back up. Every other Sunday night is family dinner night with either hubby's family or mine. This fall dear daughter is starting to take dance because she'll turn 3.

Can you see where this is going? Where does it stop? Should it stop? I'm feeling rather torn.

When I grew up, there were a couple of years of tap dance and a year of little league baseball. Not too much going on. The only consistent thing was piano lessons, which I took from 8 until 18. We mostly just spent time at home. Do I think I was jipped {spelling on that one?}? Not at all. We played outside, rode our bikes, and just had fun being kids. I could have played sports, but had no desire when I found out that it wasn't just for fun. :0) {I'm SO not a competitive person when it comes to sports}

Today, I feel like in order for my kid to "compete" with all the other "smart" or "special" kids I've got to get him into classes or athletic things to help his "talents" grow. My kid is pretty smart. Gets straight A's {he's only in 2nd grade}, works well with others :0), and reads better than most kids his age. {No I'm not bragging, just informing. Yes, I'm a proud mommy :0) } He loves to play sports. He's a good little piano player. But am I overloading him in my attempt to help him "be all that he can be"? Our week is busy. Between all of his sports and piano lessons and scout meetings, I feel like we are constantly rushing around.

I paid for him to participate in Spring Soccer. The first practice was yesterday. We didn't go. The games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When was I going to fit that in? They play soccer twice a year. I figured we could get him back in it in the fall. I pulled him from gymnastics last year. We were gone every night of the week between gymnastics, fall soccer, and piano lessons. I just couldn't do it anymore.

So, again...when is too much, TOO MUCH? I feel like we don't get any family time when I am busy being the soccer mom/scout mom/PTA mom. Like you all know, I have a little OCD problem. I don't DO the added stress thing. I like routine and structure and flow. When I am running around with my head chopped off from 4 pm until bedtime EVERY NIGHT, I lose it. I lose my patience, I lose my routine, and sometimes I feel like I'm just plain old LOSING IT. :0) So, I snap at the kids because I have no patience; my home cooked family meals turn into quick cooked, HURRY AND EAT! WE'VE GOT TO LEAVE IN 15 MINUTES! meals; and my house SUFFERS.

Am I the only one with this problem? Have I done this to myself and you are all shaking your heads wondering why you even read my blog now that you've learned the truth about me?

My new plan is this....
Mondays are family days
Tuesdays are piano lessons {it's a must in my family, my mom teaches him}
Wednesdays are father/son golf days
Thursdays are cub scouts for 45 minutes and then family time
Fridays are either family fun night or Road Trips {I can't help that one}

We are bagging soccer. There's no way I can add two games a week into the schedule. Don't forget that I still have PTA to deal with in the middle of all of this. Tuesdays can get crazy around here.

Even family nights are busy nights with homework, chores, piano practice, and dinner time. We only end up with 1 1/2 to 2 hours of actual family time. In a 24 hour day. That's sad. :0(

Anyway...I've ranted and raved enough here. But I want to know what you all think. Do we let our kids down if they aren't participating in stuff? Or are we letting them down more by not providing them enough quality family time? How do you find the right balance?

I Am Not The Next American Idol.....

American Idol Quiz





You sang You Are My Sunshine in the style of elevator


Simon Cowell says -
"I've been known to call someone the worst singer in the world...but you by far are the worst singer in the universe."


Find out what Simon Cowell would say about your singing at Quizopolis.com

He didn't even let me sing my song! Maybe it was my outfit?

Reflections

I found this while checking out a friend's blog. I thought it was definitely worth passing on. Click on the link here and it will take you to the website that has the slideshow. You won't regret it. Seriously...warm fuzzies. I wish I would have had it a couple of weeks ago for Easter though, it would have been perfect...and better than 'What Kind of Jelly Bean Are You?' :0)

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

Apparently there is a visitors center in Arizona where they have these images displayed. I would love to go and see it in person someday. Anyway...enjoy! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Dumb movies anyway!

So, do you remember this movie? It's from 1998. It came out about the same time as Disney's 'A Bug's Life'. This movie was made by Dreamworks Studio. We've owned the movie for awhile. I remember watching it back when it came out {pre kids}. So, I'm sure I bought it a few years back when it was on sale or something. We are serious movie watchers in this house. :0)

We went to my sister's house last weekend. It's a couple hour drive, so I told the kids to pick a movie to take in the car. They chose this one. Ok, great! We haven't seen this one in a while, that'll be nice to watch it {or for me, listen to it}. Can I tell you how shocked I was? This is a cartoon. When you think of cartoon, you automatically assume it's a kid movie. Sigh. They said the word d*mn 3 different times, hell and handfull of times, and tight @ss at least once. IN A CARTOON! It makes me so mad when they do that. How sad is it that we have to preview cartoons for our kids now. What should be a nice little flick ends up teaching my kids new words to add to their vocabulary. Sigh. Unfortunately, I had seen this one before, but forgot {or probably didn't notice back in pre kid days} about the language.

My question is: What's next? What else are they going to do to desensitize our kids? I feel like we have to been even more careful about stuff nowadays to make sure that our kids understand what is right and what is wrong. I know I'm going off on a little tangent here, but my two year old doesn't need to know those words. My son already does because he's in school, but it doesn't need to be in the things we bring into the house.

Am I the only mommy that gets frustrated by this crap? What do you guys think?

Flashback Friday: Early Edition Week 5

For earlier editions, you can look in my Archives.

Well, we only lived in Los Fresnos for that one year. My mom got tired of being overworked at her fabulous job as a resort manager on South Padre Island. So, she quit and found a new job in Brownsville as an apartment manager. {Maybe that's where I got my mad management skills from!} :0)

So, we moved into the apartments there. She still drove us to the same elementary though. Not sure why, but we still went to Los Fresnos Elementary for my 4th grade year. It was the only elementary I went to two consecutive years in a row. Well, I can't say that. I went to kindergarten and 1st grade at the same elementary in Utah. 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades were all done at different schools.

What I remember about Brownsville?

I shared a room with my brother and little sister. We had bunkbeds...two sets in that room. {It was a big room} We had a balcony in that bedroom. Since there were four of us kids to squeeze into a three bedroom apartment, my parents took the bedroom downstairs and us kids got the entire upstairs to ourselves. My older sister got the master bedroom {she had to share her closet with her sisters though}. Our two bedrooms were connected by the master bathroom. It had the most AWESOME shower in there. It was huge. So huge that I remember all of us kids climbing in together to shower {IN OUR BATHING SUITS!!!! Don't be thinking dirty!} We had room to spare in there too. We only did that once, but I specifically remember it. We had Love Potion No. 9 blasting from a tape in our boombox :0) I used to love that song. :0)

Anyway... our friends lived about 5 apartments down from us. They had a son my brothers age, and he had the same name as my brother too! It was crazy. The little girl my sister and I played with was Amber. She was more my sisters age, but that was ok. We're only 18 months apart anyway. :0)

While we lived in Brownsville, Hurricane Gilbert decided to try to come and play. He was a big one. At his worst, he was a Category 5 Hurricane. That's when he hit Central America on his way to us. He slowed down to a Category 3 just before he was going to hit. Category 3 still means winds at 130 miles per hour. So, what else do you do? You tape up the windows. You put all your belongings on high shelves in case it floods. And you get out of town. We went to visit family in San Antonio. Unfortunately, when we got there, we realized that a tornado watch was going on. So, we left the hurricane only to run into a tornado. Luckily, the tornado didn't touch down where we were at, and so we were ok. AND, lucky for us, the hurricane changed it's course at the last minute and hit Mexico instead of Texas, though the winds did still affect our area. Our house was fine, though you have to feel bad for those it affected. I can only imagine the losses that occured to those in Mexico. :0(

On a brighter note....I had a killer piano teacher, we lived next door to a lady that taught me how to make homemade corn tortillas {meaning, actually grinding corn and everything!}, and life was generally pretty good! This was when we had our fabulous Atari 2600. It wasn't the new fancy 5200 version, but it rocked! :0) We played Donkey Kong and Joust, and I think we even had a Space game on it, too. The graphics were amazing! :0) I mean...look at that Joystick! I wonder why it's call a JOY-stick? Probably because it brought so much joy to those who played their video games with it. SIgh..... :0) Now, you don't even need a JoyStick...you use a Wii-mote instead and just wave it around in the air. Sigh....those were the good old days.

Tee hee....

Since it was the day to be "tricky", I decided I'd try to pull one over on my family. :0) My entire family keeps telling the hubby and I that we're "supposed" to have another kid. For me, it's truly interesting how they have been so inspired about my little family. That they would KNOW that I'm supposed to have another one, or that I "should" have another is impressive. {she said sarcastically} I've explained to them numerous times that this will not happen and explained the reasons why.

I think they ignore me.

Yes, they have definitely chosen to be ignorant on this fact.

Anyway...since they are apparently DYING for me to have another baby...I gave them what they wanted. I sent out an email to my mom, my bro, and my sisters letting them know the great news! Yes, it's true family....I'm going to have that baby you told me I was "supposed" to have. {pat, pat on their backs...they were soooo right!}

My little sister caught on to what day it was and wasn't fooled. My mom had just dealt with my son at piano lessons telling her "there's something on your pants! April Fools!" He's so tricky, that one! So, my mom wasn't fooled either. BUT! My big sister, oh yeah....she totally fell for it. :0) Made my day. She replied to my email with a "I am sooooooo calling you later!" {she was at work}, so I emailed her back with just the picture above.

She wasn't pleased. She told me I wasn't very funny. I think I was hilarious!!!!! HA HA HA!

My bro never responded. Apparently he doesn't care about his sister. But that's ok Cam. Really...I'm fine. :0)

SO, I want to know what you did for April Fools Day! Were you tricky too? Any fabulous pranks that you would like to share? OR...did you have one pulled on you? Do share!

Mommy Tips by Ashlee

So, it's been getting a little too deep around here lately! Let's lighten it up, with some......

HELPFUL MOMMY TIPS BY ASHLEE

My friend, Montay, did a post on handy household tips a couple of months ago, so I thought I'd share some more. So, grab your aprons and go fix your hair....get ready to get housewiferly! {I made that word up just now}

It's not winter here anymore, but I know that some of you are still dealing with the yuck.

So, for icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't Refreeze.

To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.

For those of you with mischevious little ones like me...you may end up with permanent marker on appliances/counter tops. Use rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to clean it off.

Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! (Now, where to put the body?)

Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.

Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.

When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.

There you have it ladies! Now go get your housewife on!