Another sorrily belated post

Let's see, what all has been going on?

• Bruise is doing better on his word box (sight words).
  
• Bucket is actually reading (Dick and Jane and theBob books. Pretty cool.
• We had a great weekend visiting family.
• Michael and I are both sporting (peeling) sunburns.
  His forehead totally peeled in the shower. And, during my shower yesterday, my chest totally peeled. My arms (TOTAL FARMER'S TAN) feel fine and look nicely tanned. My forehead and nose were peeling ... and made my makeup look so strange. But the burn there has faded. It's just my chest that still looks a bit lobster-y.
• My latest niece is probably born by now. (My SIL, A's C-section [placenta previa] was planned for 7:30 this morning.)
• I still haven't caught up in folding laundry.
• My mom and I are eagerly awaiting packages. Books and trains (for Bruise) from Amazon. Shoes from Crocs. I've never had real Crocs. And I'll have some that'll be great for EVERYTHING (like church and my volunteer stint at the library). Yeah, I didn't order the clog-gy type shoes. I got the Malindi in Silver and the Olivia in black. Mom got the Farrahin Espresso. Aren't they CUTE? ... I DID look long and hard at the Sately in Mushroom/Espresso and the McCall Coral in Oyster/Blue. Aren't they CUTE??) We had a coupon for free ground shipping ($4.99 elsewise) and then, by signing up for their newsletter, I got a coupon for 20% off the whole order. ^_^ Pretty awesome, huh?
• Bruise had a BLAST on the Jetboat ride. As you can see from the picture above. ^_^
  I think of all the kids on the boat (in our family group. There were seven kids total), Bruise had the best time. He did get a little wet, but he didn't mind it near as much as the other kids. Princess Bucket, included. (She, actually, FELL ASLEEP on the boat. Not all that surprising, since the kids were all staying up until around midnight and naps were just NOT. GONNA. HAPPEN. ... That's what goes on during these sleepovers with their cousins.) ... Now I really, really would like a boat. Sometime. Sooner.
• Using the Mary Kay microdermabrasion kit last night really DID help with the peeling on my face. I mean, my nose is still a little peel-y ... but it's SO much better.
• While down visiting family, some of us went to Target. And I smacked my J-head (the brother-in-law that I consistently get along with. And I do adore him. He always makes me laugh. And he gets to work on VIDEO GAMES! ... Not that I don't adore my other brothers-in-law. Because I do.) with pillows that Cousin K was buying.
  It's a good thing that J-head and I get along so well. Because most people would probably get annoyed with me. But J and I can just laugh about it. This is one reason why he's so awesome.
• Tomorrow, I get to see my Pie (her nickname) for the first time in YEARS! (Like, in over FIVE years!) ... She and I will get together for a playdate, since she and her daughter are in town (well, a nearby town) for her sister's graduation. ^_^ I'm looking forward to seeing her. Can you tell?
• I have a couple pregnant friends. Who have both miscarried before. One's pregnancy is official. The other is getting closer to announcing hers. But, when I checked with her yesterday, everything is going well. I'm SO, SO, SO glad for prayer. (I actually have quite a few friends who've miscarried in the past. So this is really sufficiently vague. Trust me. It's enough that I do feel rather guilty for not having experienced a miscarriage myself. Not that I want to. Nor do I wish that anyone would experience one. But I know that they're really common. And I feel sad that my friends have gone through this. Well, that ANYONE'S had to go through it.)
• Still, I'm SO GLAD for my friends.
• Another of my friends miscarried this last month. :(
• My Nana's brother (well, her surviving brother -- as opposed to the one who died in a car crash before she got married) passed away last week. He'd been sick, so it wasn't a huge surprise. Still, it feels like everyone around me is dying. ... Mom said, when I told her that, I must be hanging around with my stepdad too much. Since, being in his seventies, he feels that way a lot.
• I read Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games. Now I just have to wait for MockingJay to come out.
• At the library, I found the fifth book in a series that I like just sitting on the shelf. Brand new. And I didn't even know it was coming out. That was fun. So was finding a CD of Glee songs on the shelf.
• At Costco the other day, we were shopping. I mentioned to another shopper that her perfume smelled amazing. She gave me what was left of the perfume sample (since she had a full-size of it at home). A complete stranger! Wasn't that lovely of her? (For the record, it's Daisy by Estee Lauder Marc Jacobs ...
  I haven't tried it on me yet. But it does smell wonderous. ^_^)

Okay, if I'm going to get to story time, we have to get dressed and leave.

Crazy Dream Chronicles - May 26 night/ 27 morning

This dream was one that I was actually a bit bummed to wake up from.

In it, we had been seeing Gingi-cat's ghost. We apparently saw it so often that it was totally normal.

"Oh, there's the ghost of Gingi again." "Look. Ginger's ghost is there now."

And then, for whatever reason, our ottoman was near the computer. And Ging jumped on it. And I reached out, out of habit, to pet her.

And she was tangible.

And I held her.

And I pet her.

And Michael could touch her, too.

And Mom and the kids got up. And they could see her and pet her.

....

And then I had to wake up.

Dammit.

Yes, it's been 300 days. Exactly. 9 months and 27 days.
And I still miss her.

Most days I do okay.

Then I get something wonderful like this and it hits me.

Dammit.

Michael just says maybe I'm having this dream so I'll be ready for the resurrection.
I'd better get ready a LOT faster than I've been doing lately. Because, in my dream, I didn't look much older than I presently am.

But, yeah. That's the only dream that I had lately that really sticks out.

Besides the REALLY crazy one where I was a pretty Asian girl. Who liked kissing other girls. WEIRD. Really weird.

I don't like dreams where I want to wake up and scream, "But I'm NOT a lesbian!!"
(It might make Michael a little worried.)
(And no offense if you are a lady who's attracted to other ladies. I just don't swing that way. You're still a lovely person and the Lord loves you very much.)

These pseudo-real dreams are starting to wig me out.
Because either I don't want them to come true and they DO. :(
Or I'd REALLY like them to be true and they AREN'T. :( :(

Stupid subconscious. Why can't I just have the regular-crazy-butt type dreams?

Um ...

I can use the excuse that I've been a little busy. If you were here, you could look at my house and attest to that statement's validity due to the fact that almost all the laundry is washed, we no longer have laundry piled on our bed (it's on the couch only. Score!) and almost all the dishes are done.

And that I was sick in the head and had the bright idea (which, truly is a good thing) to organize the food in the bottom cupboard (and refill the olive oil and baking powder containers near the stove. Which needed to be done).

I've been using oil to clean my face for most of last week. Grapeseed oil. I didn't break out. Even though it was THAT WEEK. If you know what I mean. And I think you do. (As of today, I'm back to normal. Yay!)

I did have a couple zits. I started using some Mary Kay stuff that my lovely, lovely sister-in-law squared (she's the wife of my brother-in-law, you see) gave me since she's dropping out of the Mary Kay business. And, oh, I've been having SUCH FUN with the load of stuff that she let me have. (Also, I owe her TONS of babysitting.)

In fact, this morning, I did the microdermabrasion for the second time (I think the last time I did it was Saturday). I've had this weird rough/textured spot along my jawline for AGES. It's ALMOST TOTALLY GONE! (I think it's like a callus from my resting that side of my chin on my hand so often. That's my theory.) And my pimples are quickly leaving due to the Acne Treatment Gel (I LOVED it when I used it back in high school. ^_^).

Tuesday through Thursday morning, we had fun with Mutti (my mom). We took the kids into town Wednesday (that McDonald's has an indoor play place) when I volunteered. They were watching "The Clone Wars" on the portable DVD player while I was shelving books upstairs (they were in the van, out of the rain) and it ran out of batteries. So Mutti and the kiddos got to explore the library a bit. ... Bruise was getting a little cranky. Poor Mutti.
After volunteering, we went to Trader Joe's (I picked up Jojoba oil and the Orange Blosson scented liquid soap. Smells SO GOOD!) and stopped by a family farm on the way home. I got lip balms (Berry pear, Vanilla Almond, and Eucalyptus Lime) and lavender body mist and massage oil. Mom picked up some DELICIOUS strawberries for dessert.

We headed home. It was SO WINDY! So windy and rainy, in fact, that as we were cooking dinner (chicken in orange sauce and brown rice. Along with mashed cauliflower, salad, and edamame), the power went out. For an HOUR. So dinner was late. Oops! Oh well. It was still pretty tasty!

Thursday, it was actually nice enough outside that, after storytime, the kids got to play at the park. Which made up for my being the MEANEST MOTHER EVAR!!!!1!!one! last week when I felt too much like figurative crap to let MAH PRESHUS BAYBEEES have fun in the sun at the park. So, yeah. My kids love me again. ^_^

I'm still hacking a bit. I'm sure it's not pneumonia (which my mom was worried about). It's probably just sinitus that's REALLY wearing out its welcome (not that it's EVER welcome).
(In fact, Michael's home sick today. Poor guy. :( ... and poor me. I can't even have fun with him since he's sleeping off the nasty plague. Oh well. We'll have fun later.)

Friday, we went and picked up Bruce's train table (It used to be one of their friend's train table. But he wasn't playing with it much. So his mom offered it for sale on Facebook. And I was lucky enough to jump on that first! _^ YAY!!!!) ... which is now sitting in the middle of the living room. At least he's playing with it every day. And, hey, once we invest in some bunk beds for the kiddos, it'll move into their room.

While we were up north, the kids got to play with their friend (and Michael and I got to chat with his parents. One of whom is one of my besties since sixth grade). Then we went to drop off some things at their cousins' house. And we stayed and played and I got the aforementioned FUN FUN Mary Kay things. (Seriously, my feet and hands are SO SOFT between the Satin Hands and the fact that I've been using Jojoba oil on them. And I've been having fun putting on makeup this weekend. Such fun!)

(Now, to feel any prettier, I just need to drop about fifty pounds. ^_^) (Or tone up my fat and stretched-out skin. That'd help.)

I've also been playing a LOT of Plants vs. Zombies. It's crazy-addictive.

I've also had strange dreams. In one, a friend of mine who was just barely pregnant, told me she miscarried. I woke up hoping that this wasn't true at all. ... It was. :( She got hold of me a few hours after I woke up and told me.

I hate it when I have unhappy dreams that come true.
Of course, Michael asked me if it wasn't better to have some advance warning for bad things. He does have a point. ... Though, honestly, I just never want bad things to happen AT ALL.
Because I'm SO realistic like that. :P

But she's really doing well. And they'll try again in a few months. (They're going to make such CUTE and FUN kids.)

We took the kids to the park on Saturday, in between rainstorms. They had fun. Even though the slides were wet enough that their little buns were SOAKED. Poor Bruise was walking like how I did after I rode a horse (YEARS AGO), all wide-legged. Poor guy. And Bucket loves to run. I hope she doesn't lose that. It'll help her to stay in good shape. ^_^

Sunday was a good day. Church was great (as always). We were home-taught. And, in the evening, we got to go visit with a few of our friends that we haven't been able to get together with for a while. We ate delicious food. Everyone's kids played together (after ours finished playing shy). Lots of fun adult conversation. I got to hold a little baby (who slept just about the entire time I held him. Even though I warned him what a scary old woman I am. ^_^).

No, I really don't have baby fever. I do wonder if I SHOULD have more kids sometime. I mean, I feel really fulfilled with Bruise and Bucket. But am I supposed to have more? What if I have one with Cystic Fibrosis or Down's Syndrome or something?

(I hate having possibilities like those up in the air. I mean, I COULD think of it more like, "What if I will bear the future scientist who cures cancer/philanthopist that ends world hunger/etc.?" instead of just focusing on what could go wrong. But, yeah, I'm kinda scared to have more kids. And our house is small. And, really, I'm selfish. I know it.)

(And there's the fact that I don't have insurance and it costs way too much to get my IUD out right now. Yeah. A money tree would solve all our current problems. Anyone have a money tree? ... Though, to be completely honest, if all our problems can be solved by throwing money at them, they're not THAT BIG of problems.)

But, yeah. I've been reading books, playing computer games, cleaning the house ... and not blogging a whole lot. Sorry!

But did I mention that I have VERY soft skin? I totally DO! ^_^
And I got to socialize! That's pretty amazing!

... Now I just have to make time to finish my library books (and watch the movies from the libraries) and Daria. Oh, I've missed Daria so, so much.

And I get to eagerly await when "Backseat Saints" comes out. Then I'll get a signed copy of that (and of "The Girl Who Stopped Swimming") sent to me. Exciting!!!

And I really, really hope that this stupid allergy/sinitus/cold/PLAGUE is completely gone by then.

Hey, at least I'm not dry-heaving due to the cough anymore. That really freaked out Bruise Thursday morning. And he IMMEDIATELY ran down the hall, "Mutti!!! [Bucket]!! Mommy frew up in da SINK!!!" ... Which freaked my poor mom out, "Allanna? Do we need to take you to Urgent Care? I have money."

I declined. I just am drinking more water to flush out the nasty nastiness. Besides, of the last few weeks when I've had this (off and on), I've only brought up food, like, ONCE. No biggie.

Well, I should get the laundry folded. And all this water really makes me have to pee. And I really don't want to do that while I'm sitting in my computer chair. Because that'd be gross and messy.

My week ... where did it go?

Okay, let's see. So I last wrote on Monday. ... What went on the rest of the week?

Tuesday: I know that Glee was on. And, oh! TOMORROW is the JOSS WHEDON-directed episode with NEIL PATRICK HARRIS!!!!!!! ... Yes, I'm a little excited.

I know that I did some housework. Yup. That was really about it. Did I read any books? I mean, I've been working at getting through books this week. And I've done a decent job! ^_^

My allergies turned into a cold. But that wasn't TOO OFF-PUTTING, since I didn't go in to volunteer on Wednesday. I did take the kids to storytime at the library here. And that, really, was the highlight of the day.

Bucket was waking us up EARLY-EARLY in the mornings. She'd have to go pee and couldn't open the door (you have to turn the knob ALL the way, HOLD IT THERE, THEN PULL the door open). And then Diana-cat had puked in the hallway. And she stepped on it.
And Michael, bless his sweet heart, was the one to deal with all that. I was SO zonked out.

Then Diana kept throwing up at nights. I mean, she usually has a puke once every few weeks. Not every night.
Then I noticed that she hadn't been eating or drinking. So Wednesday night/Thursday morning, _I_ couldn't sleep, and I looked up her symptoms online. We can't afford a trip to the vet's office, so I just prayed (and prayed) and forced water down her throat and gave her hairball remedy ... and, by Thursday evening, she lapped up some tuna water (since I made tuna noodles -- ooooh, SO exciting *eye roll*) and has been fine since.

Except that she's MEOWING. LOUDLY. In the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!
So, yes. She's alive and healthy.
And now I'm wondering if it was really worth the effort.

(Joking!)
(mostly.)

Thursday ... I think I folded clothes. And read. And was nursing Diana-cat back to health.

(8reads my Facebook posts*) ... Oh, yeah! Bucket threw up as I was getting out of the shower. All over the (thankfully TILED) bathroom floor. Just drank too much water too quickly.

We went to storytime. Where Bruise was in fine form. I think he threw two fits there. And another fit when I told them that I was really just too tired to take them to the park to play when they were acting so overly-tempermental and (in Bucket's case) fake-shy. I really didn't feel like snuffling away on a park bench, surrounded by pollen, when I felt like crap.

So the BOTH threw a fit. In the library. That was fun.
(Yes, that last sentence was SO dripping with sarcasm.)

The big excitement that night was that I took a huge mouthful of NyQuil and a couple snorts of Afrin (best nasal spray EVER) and had to go to bed about ten minutes into the movie Michael and I started watching in the living room. And then I slept like the DEAD. That was around, what, 8:30 that night.
I finally woke up Friday morning around 7:30. I felt better ... but still groggy and snuffy.

And we went to the zoo. Which was busy. Seriously, the parking lot was PACKED.
We stayed there for a couple hours and headed back home. And Michael helped a family move out of the ward. :(
And then he came home and we watched Whip It. (Which was a FUN movie. ^_^ ... Of course, it was made even better by Michael's outbust of, "No, Ellen, don't do it!" when Ellen Page's character is making a bad decision. Yes, the show was a bit predictable. But it was quite fun.)

Saturday, we went to farmer's market and I bought DELICIOUS Blackberry honey. Then we went to storytime at the library. Then we came home and cleaned the van and the truck. Michael and I SCRUBBED the crap outta the stains in the work truck. It looks MUCH better.

We took the middle seats out of the van and I vacuumed the heck outta the van. It looks SO NICE now. We've left the back seat down (after we got all the needles from our Christmas tree, what, almost SIX MONTHS AGO) vacuumed out for Friday. We're buying a train table from one of our friends. Bruise is going to be SO EXCITED. When we told them last night that we were going to drive to [our friends' son]'s house, they were all excited to play with his train table. Heh heh heh.

And, yeah, I didn't make it to the Stake RS meeting. It was 30 minutes before it started ... and I would have had to get cleaned up, put the seats back in the van, give up on finishing the vacuuming or washing it (which we did after we cleaned the inside), and put on church clothes. And tried not to blow my nose, sniff up my snot, or hack my lungs out the whole time. Just wasn't feeling it. I suck. Oh well.

Sunday, I didn't go to church. Because, really, hacking until you start gagging? Well, it's just not really conducive to the Spirit. So, I stayed home and Michael took the kids to church. I rested and finished some library books and drank hot cider. And blew my nose about a BAZILLION times.

My voice is still crap right now. But my nose is clearer today. It's now just a cold.
Still, I'll be happy when July hits and my allergies should be OVER.

This is the second month in a row where my allergies spiraled into a nasty cold. I don't much care for it. ... I'll just have to really make sure to keep taking my fake-Zyrtec.

Oh, and feeding the kids lunch today? Bruise threw a fit because I was making them apple slices with caramel dip.
"I NO _YIKE_ DAT!!!!!!" He pretty-much shrieked.

And I was calm and collecte ... Yeah, I can't keep a straight face even just TYPING that.

I yelled at him that he was giving me crap attitude and I was NOT going to accept that.
And then I made him try the caramel sauce (Srsly, the boy's ADAMANTLY opposed to any kinds of dip. Yes, it was sauce from McDonald's. ... And when we go to McDonald's, he won't dip his fries in ketchup or use ANY dipping sauce for his nuggets! ... As opposed to his sister, who dips her fries in BBQ AND KETCHUP ... Or me. Right now, I LOVE dipping my fries in the Tangy Honey Mustard sauce. YUMMMM. And I'm known to dip my burger in the ketchup. I like sauces! Even Michael uses sauces when he eats! ... I just don't get it. Maybe it's just a phase?)

Well, it's after two now. I should eat something today. ... It just hasn't been on my list of priorities. That and, when I can barely smell/taste, food just isn't all that exciting. :(

Mother's Day Aftermath ...

It was a pretty quiet Mother's Day, really. Pretty quiet weekend, all truth be told.

Since paying off all the credit card debt and getting caught up on tithing, if I said that money was a little tight, that'd be a bit of an understatement. But, by June, we'll have money. We can start SAVING, which will be GREAT.

The big news is that my mom saw a GREAT DEAL on a computer (CPU and monitor for $399) and that was my Mother's Day present. From my wonderful Mom. And a printer with wireless capabilities. (I really think that she covered Mother's and Father's Day ... since Michael has his laptop back AND is able to print from anywhere in the house. Which he's wanted to do for, oh, FOREVER. ^_^)

We looked around Farmer's Market Saturday morning but didn't get anything. We missed most of the Family Fair at the library ... we had tried to get the kids to take a nap. And Michael thought the fair STARTED at 4. (It was from 2-4. Oops.) And Bruise spilled half a cup of juice in the hall at the library. Urgh! (<-- That is SO a word. I JUST used it.)

Also, speaking of words ... I was THRILLED that on Glee last week, they TOTALLY used the word "man whore." REPEATEDLY.

I started using that back in, like, 2002. That is MY WORD. And it's famous now!
(Hey, I think it's absolutely hypocritical that girls who sleep around are called bad names and that there wasn't a word for guys who do that, really. I mean, "player" comes close ... but "man whore?" TOTALLY describes a guy like that.)

(It's so MY word.)

Back to the weekend ... In Sacrament Meeting at church, Bucket wouldn't get up to sing with the rest of the Primary kids. She clung to my arm and was all, "Noooo. I want to stay with YOOOOOOOOOOOO!" So Bruise was the only child representative up with the rest of the group.

And did he sing?

Nope! He just stood there, trying to hide behind the taller kids (easy) and smiled at me. Didn't open his mouth once, silly boy.

The kiddos made cards/pictures in Sunbeams (paint on their hands to create a flower). Bucket's flower is, of course, purple. Bruise's is red, naturally. Bucket didn't want to give me hers. Ha! (I won. They're on the fridge right now.)

On the way home, Bruise declared that he did NOT want Mac 'n' Cheese when we got home (Sad, but true: Our Sunday lunch tradition is Mac and Cheese ... so that the kids don't ask for it EVERY SINGLE DAY. ), he wanted a PB&J.
Michael: Okay. But what does MOMMY want for lunch? It's Mother's Day. What does she want for lunch and dinner?
Me: ... Oh, gosh, I don't really know. Let me think ...
Bruise: Moooom??
Me: Yeah, sweetie, what?

Bruise: You want fish-eye sooooop.
Me: *laughs and laughs and laughs*

Now, if you're wondering about that, this is a bit of an unspoken family tradition from MY childhood. When I'd whine about being hungry and wanting to know what was for dinner, my mom would tease me by telling me we were having fish-eye soup or worm pizza. ... And I've continued the family torture.

And I was GREATLY AMUSED that Bruise is carrying out this joke. Good job, little man. Good job.

So, yeah ... that's a lot of what's keeping me busy.

And, for the record, Michael made me stir fry last night. Yum!

Also, I'm incredibly behind in folding laundry and doing dishes. That's what this week is for, right?
In other news, my brother-in-law and his wife have gotten me addicted to playing Plants vs. Zombies. (Michael is, understandably, less than thrilled.

In other, OTHER news, I'm actually back on the Windows Instant Messenger (What is it, Windows Live Messenger? I still call it MSN IM. Because I'm OLD SKOOL. ... Or just old.) ... but I'm still on GoogleTalk. I just have less family on Gtalk. *sigh* But I LOVE the Google! Oh well.

But I hope that all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day. And that everyone was able to wish their mommas a happy Mother's Day (as far as circumstances allow, of course. I think shouting it to the sky or whispering it totally counts if your mom/stepmom/grandma/whoever has already passed).

Okay. I think that's all I have for blogging. *sigh*

For Jocelyn

Here it is! I finally loaded and got Writer to work! ^_^

Now I get to have the pretty font, just like you! ^_^

Seriously, for the rest of you who aren’t Jocelyn, I’m kind of a font dork. I usually load tons of different fonts onto my (or Michael’s) computers … I like having options.

Hopefully this one (Segoe Script) isn’t too hard to read. Because it’s just pretty.

And, really, if you’re looking for free fonts, I’m sure that I could help you find a few sites. Because free is my favorite price ever. ^_^

... Now, if I could just edit the labels in Writer ... for those of you who use it, any hints? Right now I'm just too lazy to look it up for myself. Sad, huh? Oh well. :P

Unveiling ...

Here's the new haircolor ... thanks to the magic that is my dinky little (BUT WORKING!) webcam.

I had to color it twice to get a really good color. I first did Feria #40 (Espresso) ... and, well, it looked like I missed a few spots and it wasn't as deep of a color as I was hoping for.

So I went and grabbed some Clariol Perfect 10 in #5 (Mochalotive) ... and Michael was kind enough to put it in my hair and make sure that EVERY. SINGLE. STRAND was covered.

And, as you can tell, he did an awesome job. We joked that he may have missed his calling in life as a hair stylist. ^_^

And, I'm glad to report, my mom likes it! She didn't even bemoan a little that her baby wasn't blonde anymore. ^_^

And Michael likes it.

I'm lucky to have a husband who supports my little forays (Woot! That WAS the word I was looking for! I looked it up, just to check! I am the WORD MEISTER!! :P) into messing with my hair and nail polish color. (Seriously, China Glaze Thataway (tangerine with a gold shimmer) looks AMAZING with my favorite pair of Birks. In case that's ever on Jeopardy or something. :P)

He did mention that it's kind of fun when I color my hair, since each different color seems to highlight a different aspect/facet of my personality.

So I had to quiz him about how I'm different with each hair color.
Here's the breakdown for the colors that I've had:

• Blonde: More sensual (whatever he means by that ... I was going to guess that I was more bubbly as a blonde. Guess I was WRONG. :P)
  
• Red: More vibrant
• Black: More aggressive. And he hastened to clarify that being aggressive isn't a bad thing.
• My natural hair color (a dark blonde): More subdued.
• This color: ... Well, I've only had it for a couple days. We'll see. ^_^
  

Kind of funny, though that my hair color does effect my personality.

But, I guess it makes sense that when I get kind of bored, I usually break out of that funk by changing up my hair and/or nails.

Maybe I just am subconsciously trying to act however a gal with [color] hair would act?

I think the brown hair does look a little more elegant than what I was sporting (a redder shade of my natural color) ... and I do like it. I've always wanted to be a brunette. And, truly, that month where I had black hair? That was FUN. (In fact, Michael always suggests that I go for the black hair again. Maybe because he noticed how fun I found it?)

And, yeah, it's fun to have nail polish on ... and to shake it up.

This is yet another reason why it's really good that I don't have a tattoo or any body piercings. I get bored of things. And it's so cheap and easy for my to switch up my nails and/or hair. ... This was one of the more expensive dye jobs I've given myself ... and it was just around $20. (I can think of two, maybe three, other times that I've used more than one dye. Still, every time, it was under $40 total to fix whatever I've done to my hair. And that even covers trying to go from Jet Black to Platinum Blonde ... which you really SHOULD go to a salon or a professional to do it successfully. ^_^)

But ... yeah. So ... who loves my hair? ^_^ I do!

My presssssssssshussssssssssssh!!!

Michael will get his laptop back.

Because, for Mother's Day, my mommy bought me a new computer.
Staples was having a GREAT deal. We got the last one in stock, even.

(Compaq Presario CQ5320F, if you really want to know. With a new monitor. So it's all matchy-match and gorgeous.)

And it's so, so, so pretty. Wonderfully pretty. And fast. And possessing Windows 7.

And did I mention that it's PRETTY?

Also, my mom let me pick out some plants at Home Depot to replace the (now-dead) butterfly garden sprouts and the geranium she gave me for my birthday. So I have some lavender, violas, and two lovely flowers that I don't recall the names of. My bad. ... but I LOVE the lavender. It smells SOOOOO divine.)

Also, in shopping, I spent most of the money that my dad had given me. (Well, after the tax rebate came in, I was able to be reimbursed for the cash Dad had given me ... which had originally [and UNFORTUNATELY] went to paying for gas. BOO! ... BUT my husband is awesome and let me spend that same amount of money however my little heart chose. ^_^)

SO, here's what I ordered online this morning (it's all preorder, so I won't get it for a while, really):

• Daria: The Complete Animated Series -- Seriously, I've been WAITING for this for OVER a decade. And it's HERE!!!!! It should arrive around May 17 or so.
• Joshilyn Jackson's Backseat Saints, her NEWEST book ... and, since I ordered it from the link for her virtual book tour, I'll get it (and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, which is the other book of hers that I hadn't already bought) AUTOGRAPHED. TO ME. WITH MY NAME. Oh, yeah. ... Now, I won't get these until around the middle of June.

So, yeah, I'm VERY EXCITED about my birthday presents. ^_^

AND MY MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT ... I mean, I only got my mom some flowers and some hand soap (which smells GORGEOUS, I must add) from Trader Joe's ... IS AMAZING.

And we got a new printer. It's wireless and I haven't yet set it up ... I REALLY hope that it works. Because that'll make life WAY EASIER. ^_^ ... And I'll be able to print in color again. ^_^

But, yeah. Things like this really do make up for the past money woes. ... Well, at least until I think about how we've never had a big family vacation.
(However, the kids REALLY want to go camping. I think that I can swing that. ... But I really don't do HARDCORE camping. I like being able to use and toilet and a shower VERY MUCH. ^_^)

Oh, and I was a nice mom. We played at the park after storytime. Yup. I'm feeling pretty good.
And I had jerky for breakfast. Mmmmm. Salty, dried meat. Good stuff. ^_^

Just a note ...

So, YES, I'm VERY late to jump on the awesome-trend that is NieNie (Stephanie Nielson of The NieNie Dialogues).

I mean, I've known about her for a couple years, since I used to be a regular reader of a couple bloggers who are related to her (they're both friends of Eric D. Snider, who is amazingly hilarious and snarky ... and, in his blog, he recommended some of his friends' blogs.), so I was aware of when she (NieNie) and her husband were in the plane crash.

But I really didn't start reading her blog.

And I have a few friends who RAVE about her blog.

And I kinda put it off.

But, after the newest MormonMessages on YouTube, I HAD to start reading.

She is truly inspiring.

Reading her blog ... well, it makes me want to be a better person and a better mom.

And, seriously, some reader sent her hate mail about getting her hair and a pedicure. Ouch! Even if her family WERE living solely upon the donations of others (which they're NOT. The donations go to cover their medical costs), (1) it's not really anyone's business and (2) seriously, she LIVED through a plane crash, is a good mother of a large family, has daily medical issues ... Heck, if I had the funds, I'd send her to a spa for a month!!

But, yeah. I'm not at all caught up on her blog. And I'm reading going back, which is a little crazy for me.

But if you want a glimpse of an amazing lady, you should go and check it out.

Unlike me, she actually posts pictures. Like, EVERY DAY.

A week and a day ... in one post ...

Yes, I know that I suck at posting regularly right now.

I was going to blog yesterday morning ... and I had nothing to write about.
At least nothing that I could think to write.

We are now out of credit card debt! YAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!
We are caught up on bills. YAY!!!
We've paid our tithing (MOST IMPORTANT, really.)

Good stuff, huh?

And I got around to spending some of my birthday money from Grampy and from Nana.

I bought myself a new purse, a metal water bottle, a new pair of tweezers, some face stuff (new moisturizer and face wash) and a Soap and Glory lotion (Hey, it was on clearance and it smells WONDERFUL!) ... I also bought some things at the YW Garage Sale (along with getting a few things for free, since I was there all day and got to pick through some of the things that didn't sell. AND WE MADE OUR GOAL! YAY!!!!).

What all did I get? A gorgeous teddy bear for Bucket, a stuffed Darth Vader for Bruise's bed, a copy of The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, a couple plastic glasses for Bucket (since Bruise has more cute cups), a little Strawberry Shortcake flatware set for Bucket, some hangers for the kids' closet, a pool noodle, a pair of shoes ... a couple other books. Really, if you missed it, you missed some great deals. I almost got Bruise a Star Wars tent and a couple of radio receivers (STILL NO CALL SIGN, by the way. LAAAAAAAME!) ... but I waited too long and they went to other homes (and truly, I do have a LOT of stuff in our house. I really don't NEED all the things that I COULD have bought and didn't).

I'm getting ahead of myself, I'm sure. ... Well, not really. I told you about getting out of (most of our) debt, getting bills paid (I know, our life is TOTALLY EXCITING! You're SO jealous, huh?), the YW garage sale (which I woke up at FIVE IN THE MORNING for ... so you KNOW that I love my Young Women).

As the garage sale was closing up, I got a call from Michael (who had dropped by and brought me lunch, that wonderful man), telling me that our sister-in-law (who's pregnant) was in the hospital. And that I needed to meet him in the next town, where he was with all the kids (our two and their three cousins). So, I helped ferry some boxes across town, gave up hope for a relaxing bubble bath after nearly nine hours of helping run the garage sale, and scurried over to the park they were at. (Michael's brother had run back to his home to get things for his wife and to get stuff so the cousins could sleep over and attend church with us the next morning). We finalized plans with Michael's brother after the kids played for a while, got a pizza over at WinCo, and met Michael's brother back at the hospital.

Turns out that with this pregnancy, my sister-in-law has placenta previa, so she will have a C-section when this daughter is born. She was in the hospital, being monitored and all, a couple days (she got to go home yesterday), and they'll be meeting this week with a high-risk doctor. She's 32 weeks along right now. The local hospitals around won't have her deliver here for at least another month. So, if you can pray that she and the baby can make it to at least 36 weeks, that'd be AWESOME. If not, they'll have to go all the way down to Eugene (which is the closest NICU) to deliver ... and find someplace to stay down there for a few weeks. And make sure that their oldest daughter has someone to stay at their house, since she's in school ... But, yeah. Life will be LOTS easier if they can make it to at least 36 weeks.

So, we took the kids to church with us. And we sat in the SECOND row (we ALWAYS sit in the first row, since it's by the door and we can take our munchkins out quickly and without much of a fuss if we need to) ... which was noticed by QUITE A FEW people.
You KNOW it's bad when an 11-year-old girl asks you, "WHAT? You ALWAYS sit in the front!!" *lol* Maybe you had to be there. ^_^

But sacrament meeting went rather well. One of our nieces really doesn't have the concept of whispering down. And there were a few squabbles over crayons and books. Bruise cuddled in my lap and told me that he wanted to go home and play. Our nephew snuggled in Michael's lap and nearly fell asleep.

And, OH, but our kids' Primary teacher is AMAZING. She handled having our two nieces in her class with no warning with such grace. She's completely full of win and I do adore her so.

Our brother-in-law came at the end of church and followed us home, hung out for a bit, and then took the kids home. Poor guy, had to hang out in our messy, messy house. I have fallen SO behind on housework. Just not motivated to do it (I'd rather be reading, you know).

OH! Friday evening, we had a ward (congregation) potluck. While people were cleaning up, the kids are running around, chasing each other. Except for Bucket, who's just standing by my side as I chat and wait for Michael to get back from helping fix a leaky sink for a gal who must moved out of the ward. And SUDDENLY Bucket's crying and has a bloody nose. So I have to try to get her (1) to the bathroom, (2)to stop crying/screaming, and (3) to STOP WIPING HER NOSE ON HER JACKET FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!!! ... oh, and (4) to clean up the bathroom so it doesn't look like there was a massacre in there ... ALL while working at stopping the blood and getting her cleaned up. It was .... a little nuts.

Yesterday, I tried to get the kids to nap. Didn't work. So I was irritated. But, when Michael got home, we ran some errands (went to one library to turn in books and pick up holds. Went to the other library to do the same ... and pick up one non-hold book. Stopped by Borders to buy the latest issue of Mental_Floss) and went grocery shopping. Good stuff.

Then I colored my hair. It's a color that I haven't done before. I haven't taken any pictures and since I haven't left the house right yet, I'll be a brat and have you guess what color I did.

(My mom's so cute. When I told her that I dyed my hair last night, so she wouldn't be shocked or anything, she immediately asked, "Purple??")
(HINT: It's not purple. Though that might be fun. Maybe I should get some purple chunks, though?)

And did I mention that my girl is reading? It's crazy. ... I suppose that it's not all THAT crazy, since the kids see me reading, like, ALL THE TIME. But she's my LITTLE! Bruise, if he applies himself, will totally catch up. Speaking of, he needs to do his word cards.

I did a load of dishes. I need to do more. And fold TONS of laundry, vacuum, sweep the kitchen, clean the counters, clean the bathrooms, recover the drip pans on the stove with fresh foil ... well, that'll get me just about caught up.

And I'm going to try to get caught up ... but I have some REALLY GOOD BOOKS checked our that I really want to read. .... CONFLICTED!!!!!!

But, I have today and early tomorrow to get things cleaned. And then my mom'll be up. ^_^

Also, I have very few ideas for what to make for dinner. Any suggestions are awesome! (Or I'll just make homemade tuna helper. It does sound pretty tasty. ^_^)

Oh, also, I cursed at my daughter today. Bad me, huh?
(She didn't want to clear her dishes from the table because she might miss some of her DVD. So I told her to go watch her damn show ... and to not talk to me for a little. Yup, stellar parenting there, huh? Ugh. I need to be more patient and awesome. *sigh*)

And there was much rejoicing ...

... for our tax rebate FINALLY ARRIVED.
And it is now deposited in our account.
And my heart has stopped racing and my brain is fretting a whole HECKUVA lot less.

We had a great time at our playdate today ... it was kinda funny that the KIDS didn't play together with each other so much. But S and I had a good time talking (well, at least I had a very nice time. I suppose that you'd have to ask her for her opinion. ^_^)

I talked to my Dad and my Nana. Uncle Mike's doing better. Barely using his wheelchair ... he's mostly using his cane and putting some weight on the furniture. ^_^ He's stubborn. ^_^ Runs in the family, huh?

But, yeah ... the tax rebate came in. PHEW! I was social. PHEW! I'm getting the YW Calendars done. PHEW! Turned in books before they were due. PHEW!
Things are starting to come together.

Still no call sign ... But, hey, I can handle that.

So far ...

So, two posts ago, I talked about quite a few areas in which I fail.

Socially, spiritually, etc., etc., etc. ...

So, I'm really trying to do something about it. Instead of just whining.

Today has been good.

I woke up. I said a prayer (Truly, I KNOW that Michael prayed. But I was very much asleep and cannot recall anything ... so this is why it's really important for me to pray by myself, too). I'll need to pray later (probably during the kids' naptime) so that I pray for my Visiting Teaching sisters and our awesome YW. I read a chapter of the Book of Mormon. I finalized plans for a playdate with a sister in the ward. I made plans for when to practice reading and maths with the kids. And when to work on some of my responsibilities for YW. I made plans for dinner (Won't Michael be pleased!) ... I'll get plans finalized for FHE (Family Home Evening).

The kids woke up as I finished reading scriptures. We hugged and talked of today's plans (Playdate at 9, return library books on the way, come home [HOPEFULLY run the errand of depositing the tax rebate check. PRAY that we receive it in the mail so we can deposit it!!!!], eat lunch, do school-stuff, nap, watch a show[Bucket]/play on my DS [Bruise] ... dinner, FHE, bedtime), then we had a prayer together and read the back of a picture from our Gospel Art Kit (which has been replaced by the Gospel Art Book -- less expensive and easier to cart around, truly).

I've let the kids get themselves yogurt to eat. Now, I need to get a shower and dressed (they've gotten themselves dressed) ... after I'm done cuddling my girl to get her warm. ... And do our calendar. This way they know their days of the week. Which is important, too.

Just thought I'd report my progress.

Some good things ....

Since, in my last blog post I mostly was a whiney-whiney-whiner, I figure that I ought to mention some nice things:

1. You know how our drains/house plumbing were being crazy? ... Well, that seems to have cleared up. I love it when prayer works. It's awesome.
2. Michael was awesome and cut the grass/weeds in the yard. Go Michael!!
   (Now I need to rake it. I think the kids will like being able to play in the yard ... and to use the toy wheelbarrows that Nana got them for Easter. ^_^)
3. I FOUND A PLACE WHERE I CAN GET A KEY FOR THE CLOCK MY GREAT-GRANDPA MILTON MADE!!!!!!!
   (As soon as we get the tax rebate, I am going to take the clock in -- since it's a mantel clock and not a HUUUUGE Grandfather-type Clock -- and get that key and get it oiled. That'll be awesome. And the guy I talked to at the shop, since I was BRAVE (for my agrophobic/telephobic self) and CALLED to ask if they had size 11 clock keys and how much they cost, was SO SUPERNICE. I can't wait to meet him in person.
   (I love good customer service. If you give me good customer service, you are seriously, like, my new best friend. Really. I'm still in total adoration for the gal who took good care of me when the kids bouncy-horse broke. She is AMAZING! I'd totally friend her on Facebook. TOTALLY.)

So, yeah ... that's a good deal of GOOD in my life right now.
Since something has to balance the crazy. ^_^

I'm sure I had a clever title ... Must have lost it somewhere ...

It's occurred to me how much I seem to be FAILING as a mother and as a person.

And, no, I don't think this is just the monthly hormone-festival talking.

But really ...

• My kids' great-grandparents live in town. Maybe two miles away. How often to we go and see them? Not a lot. And we SHOULD. I mean, really. They're not getting any younger. And it's a huge blessing to be able to know your great-grandfolks. (And the set that I knew passed away when I was three or four and twelve, respectively.)
• I'm seriously thinking of volunteering at the more local library. All I have to do is volunteer a total of 12 hours per quarter, and I won't have any more OVERDUE FEES!!!! (Seriously, after my total brain-lapse that cost me SEVEN FREAKING DOLLARS, I really have NO reason NOT to volunteer.)
• I should take time away from reading blogs and playing facebook games to read my scriptures, finish my Personal Progress, make sure that my kids DO know how to read and write and do basic arithmetic, take my kids to the park and playdates and such ...

I know that during the summer, there was talk of a little mom-ran preschool. I was waffling because my friend T and I were going to do a preschool thing together. We didn't. And I think that other moms are on the mom-preschool ... I don't know.

I've also realized that I haven't done much at all social lately. With the exception of volunteering at my library. I read other blogs about how some moms actually, like, spend time with their girlfriends. (Yes, they do go out to restaurants or the movies ... which cost money that I don't have right now. And I don't know these gals. But, still, I'm a little jealous. It's really my own fault. I barely talk to people on the phone. And most of my gals are not in town. Or they're busy. ... Or things happen -- like when I have a Tupperware party and, well, no one shows up. Because THEY HAVE LIVES ... and it kinda feels like I don't. ... And then I have to try and figure out WHEN I could find two hours or so to volunteer at the local library ....)

Yeah. And did I mention that I SUCK at reading my scriptures? Or having personal prayer?
I'm a YW leader (well ... I'm the YW Secretary.). I should/NEED TO pray for these girls EVERY DAY.

And I suck at it.

I should be praying for all the gals on my Visiting Teaching list DAILY. I should probably pray for my companion ... and I fall behind.

I mean, the real constant is praying with Michael. He prays in the mornings (this year) and I say prayer before we fall asleep. (So, hey! This year, we have coherent prayers in the mornings! Yay! *rolls eyes* Yeah, I'm not all that with it, being verbal at 5 A.M. Just keeping it real.)
And, lately, I make sure to pray for my Uncle. Since that stupid tooth infection that CAUSED his heart attack is BACK. And it's pretty serious.

And I pray, pray, pray that our tax rebate comes in. Because I really, really, really want to be (mostly) out of debt. And to have some savings. And to do something fun. And to not be all, "Oh, we can't do anything; we can't afford it." Because ... and I know it's so shallow of me ... but money is security. And when we don't have it, I worry. I try NOT to worry.
And then I WORRY about not being able to NOT WORRY.

(Yup, everyone has a talent. Mine is being a complete mental. ESPECIALLY when I'm in the throes of homone-fest. Joy!)

And, after a while, poor Michael feels like he's not doing a great job as a husband/provider ... It's not HIS fault that we're in a recession. And that I am a person who loves to have money. And to spend it on books and shoes ... or memberships to OMSI, the zoo, and the aquarium!

Really, if we won the lottery, I'd get us on a plane to Disneyland, STAT.
And, you betcha that while we're down there in California, we'd go to The Exploratorium and Ripley's and all those fun places. (Truly, I'd like to tour Alcatraz again, if I'm in San Fran. It's been, what, over fifteen years since I was there. And, really ... I bought a book about the Birdman of Alcatraz. He was one freaky piece of work. I really should have bought the book about Al Capone. At least HE wasn't a pedophile ... right? I mean, I heard he was quite the gentleman. When he wasn't having people murdered and all.)

Heck, if I had the money, I'd go to Scotland ... work on some family history and all. And go shopping in London. At Bravissima ... where they actually cater to gals with HUUUUUUUUGE ... tracts of land, per se. (Hey, I didn't ask for them! Really. Ask my poor mother who had to listen to my childhood prayers of, "Please, PLEASE, don't let me have BIG HURKIN' BOOBS like my Mom!!!" Seriously.)
(I had quite a way with words even then, don't you agree?)

But, really ... I haven't been reading as much or as quickly as usual. I've been hormonal and not sleeping well. I REALLY am desperate to get all our stupid bills paid off (and for Michael to get his pay raise. Once the results of his exam come in. And he should definitely have passed. Easily.) and to FINALLY get my call sign (our whole exam group STILL hasn't been entered into the FCC database. We might be one of those poor groups that takes FOUR WEEKS to be entered in there. *sigh* ... What makes it crazy is that an exam group almost a whole week after ours has ALREADY been entered into the database. *tragic!!*) ...

And, yeah, I am starting to think that I just REALLY am going to have to bite the bullet and create a schedule for doing things. Just make a weekly thing going on ... "practice kids' reading NOW. Do a Science experiment NOW. Mop the floors NOW. Sweep the yard, go to the park, bake bread, plan week's dinners, fold and put away laundry, EXERCISE YOUR FATTY BOTTOM, read scriptures with kids, study scriptures by myself, pray with kids, pray by myself, write list of people I should be including in my prayers, do the d*** dishes, put the d*** dishes and laundry away, take the kids' piggy banks to the bank and deposit their money in their accounts (Hey, SOMEONE has to have money in this family. At least THEY get to!) ...

Really ... it's nice to think that I can be all FUN and SPONTANEOUS! .... But, right now, I really am not doing so well. I really wish that I were.

That's it. I'm going to find myself a decent week;y calendar template to plan out this week. And maybe next week. Just to give it a try.

Also, I'd like to get a goldfish. But I'd feel better about that IF all my plants weren't dying. AGAIN.

And we might be taking care of a friend's bunny ... if she can't find him a better home than ours. ... But, you know, I'd kinda LIKE a bunny. So, in order to have a bunny, I REALLY need to get myself in mental shape for taking care of animals. At least taking BETTER care of animals. (It's amazing that Diana-cat puts up with us. Poor dear.)

So, yeah ... Let's get some crap done (i.e., I need to get some crap done).

Now, why, when I write this, do I feel dizzy? Let's just blame it on my stupid period. That's why I have a period, right? So I can blame crap on it.

I'm going with this idea. Because it sounds good to me.

Still no HAM radio call number. But, it appears that it's not just me. It's the whole group of us who took our test. It's being looked into.

I mean, it's not like I have a radio that I can use and I'm just sitting around here, with baited breath, PINING to transmit on the air.

(Well, since I haven't brushed my teeth yet --GROSS! I KNOW! --, I MAY have baited breath.)

It occurred to me last night that the only things I had eaten yesterday were a piece of cheese, maybe a couple Otter Pops, and a PB&Nutella sandwich (If you haven't had one, you SHOULD. It's like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in a sandwich. ... Maybe I should grill my next one.
(And THAT explains a very important reason why I will NEVER be a size 2. EVER.)
(Because I love me some food.)
(Fattening food.)

(Maybe I should add a slice of cheesecake on the side. It would offset some of the sweetness of the sandwich, really. Yummmmm.)
(I am SO sick in the head. How do you ever put UP with me????)

STILL, I'm in a much better mental-state-place than I was a couple days ago.

Stupid, stupid cycle.

(Really ... how DO you put up with me? How does ANYONE?)

But I had a good evening yesterday ... even with the hectic morning of having SEVEN DOLLARS in library fines at the local library. It's my own fault, not paying attention to when I need to renew books (HINT: Do it the day they're due. Maybe the day before or the day after. NOT FIVE DAYS AFTER. Trust me on this.) ... After that financial blunder, I'm REALLY READY for our tax rebate to arrive. It can't come too soon. A week ago would have been nice. *grin*

But, I got to go visit some of the Young Women in our ward. I was paired with the Stake YW President (who is a kick in the pants to be around, I must say), and we visited two houses (one is a family where the three girls are all in YW. The other has just one in YW) and it was SUCH a great time. Seriously, if I were *gulp* fifteen years younger, I would TOTALLY LOVE to hang with these girls.

And, flatteringly enough, they like me back.

And the Stake YW President, as we were chatting as I drove to the houses and back to the church, flattered me shamelessly. She told me that I was quick-witted.
(So now I adore her more than ever.)
(Yes, I do appreciate flattery. As I tell my friends, "Flattery will get you everywhere!" ... At least when it comes to me and my level of adoration and fondness for my people.)
(And, truly, if you're reading this [By which, I actually mean, "if you haven't read and then run away screaming" ... not that I'd BLAME you for that. At all, honestly], you ARE my people. And I love and appreciate you for it.)

But, yeah ... I'm getting so totally pumped for Girls' Camp this summer. So far, there's nothing that's going to conflict (like, say, a friend's wedding. Or being a matron-of-honor in a wedding) ... and I have EXCELLENT family (both sides) that can take care of the children. And a husband that can truly fend for himself. (Seriously, the house will be cleaner than when I left it. ... Though, it might help that the kids won't be there to unravel all his hard work. ... Honestly, there are weeks that I just GIVE UP ... And he still puts up with me. Totally don't deserve him. And it makes me wonder what he did to end up with ME. ... Probably just a huge act of charity. And I'm sure grateful for it. ^_^)

Well, I need to finish getting ready and head over to storytime.
I bit the bullet and gleaned through the pile of library books from both libraries. I've checked out too many books. And I just was not getting through them.
I refuse to feel like a failure about it.
Because I can always check them out again some other time.

Besides, this is one reason I LOVE my Goodreads account. It lets me keep track of all the books I WANT to read. (Seriously. I mean the networking aspect is cool. And being able to mark which books I have read is great ... but, really? I have it so that I have a HUGE list of all the books that I hear/read about and want to read. But don't have room for in my holds list ... or the libraries don't have them yet ... or whatever.)

Okay. Closing up. That's it for now.

Oh, and I'm a EQ widow tonight. Michael's going to be out doing visits (just like I was doing last night -- but to families/menfolk). He was watching Signs when I got home.
After putting the kids to bed, I'm going to be watching the DVD of "The Botany of Desire." I waited long enough for my hold to come in and I'm DETERMINED not to return it unwatched.

Yup, exciting, exciting plans. :P

HARK! The Angry Bees Cometh!

Gentle readers, here's where I'm really just blogging for me. You can read it. But I'm writing to get it out. This is not a cry for help or whatever. This is just "OmiHECK, my brain is full of those crazy, angry bees! Why does this have to happen every single, stupid month?!?!?!?" ... and then THAT is usually summed up with me hissing through gritted teeth that this is PROOF, pure and unadulterated, that GOD IS A MAN.

Do consider yourself warned. Perhaps you should, instead, ignore my rantings and watch something entertaining ...

HERE! This is good!


Or THIS!! Nerdy AND GOOD!!

And this is just part one. I know that there were parts 2.1 and 2.2 up as of ... this morning, anyways.

Yes, those are distractions. Lovely, lovely distractions!
-----------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, you KNOW something's up when you're just unloading the dishwasher and you start to wonder how it'd go if you just started slicing on yourself with that Chef's knife.

No, I am NOT some emo teenager. I'm fully aware of this fact.

And I DIDN'T DO IT. The thought just, like, crossed my mind. And I was all, "Huh. That might solve something. ... Oh, but wait, I don't have money to go to the ER. And I'd have to get the kids out of their room and loaded in the car or something. ... Nope. Not a good idea." And I put the knife away in its block.

Yup, THIS is how I get a bit of an inkling that my evil cycle of hormonal-based madness and DOOOOOOOOM is on the way.

Other signs:

• I start to feel CONSTANTLY irritated by the people whom I love. I feel that my kids are UBER-needy and their voices GRATE upon my sanity.
• I find myself snapping like a snapping snapper at my dear and beloved husband ... who, at first, is taken slightly aback and wonders what's happened.
• I get WILDLY AND COMPLETELY STRESSED THE H OUT by the most random things. (That stupid sink issue? It's really stupid. I can still do the dishes. The dishwasher works. STILL, I feel like lurking around corners with the desperation of that one lady in that short story about yellow wallpaper ... or, perhaps, Bertha Rochester -- though I'm less violent than she was.)
• I find myself sitting at my desk, dinking around on Facebook and breaking down into tears as I (1) hear strains of Christmas music from a rerun of NCIS that Michael's watching across the room ... Really. ... Or (2) writing an email to my HAM Radio Elmer to ask if something might be wrong, since we were told that USUALLY the FCC gets new licensees listed in the database/assigned a call number in a week ... and it's been nearly ten business days and I'm feeling a little antsy but maybeI'mjustbeingimpatientandshouldIbeworried BecausereallyI'mstartingtogetalittleworriedPleasewritemebackKTHXBAI!
• All I want to do, really, is get that D***, stupid federal refund and go shopping. And buy things like MILK, VITAMIN WATER, TORTILLAS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE ... and WHY! OH! WHY CAN I NOT DO THESE THINGS????? IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD, CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?????
• I just want to lay in bed or a hot bath and read, read, read, read ... Seriously, my kids are four years old. They can get themselves water and string cheese. Can't I just throw some graham crackers in their direction and they can just play or something?

THESE HERE ARE ALL SIGNS OF THE GROWING INSANITY THAT IS THE ANGRY BEES.

Besides the regular bits of hormonal silliness -- feeling like I'm fat enough that a manatee looks like an even-more-skeletally-anorexic version of Lindsay Lohan, feeling like the whole world is just "off" ... you know, that general malaise and ennui.

So, yup, I had me a warm bath, reading the prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I'm hitting the bottle (of Valerian), I let Michael know that, yes -- as he aptly suspects, the angry bees are in town. So if I act especially crazy, it's just a regular thing.

He's so nice .... I'm all, "I just feel like CRYING. For no reason!!" And he's all, "It's okay. Let it out." And I'm all, "NO! I HATE CRYING! I don't WANT to cry. I just want to feel NOT like CRYING!"

(Hey, I warned you, I'm CRAZY IRRATIONAL right now.)

But, yeah. I got almost all the dishes done. I have a MOUNTAIN of laundry to be folded. But I made our bed. And I'm doing my darndest not to yell at my sweet BAYBEES. And to get dressed and not have cravings for things like Vitamin Water (which, truly? I like it. But it's not AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. Seriously. Like, it's when I get a craving out of the blue for CARROTS. Who craves carrots? Seriously???).

So, yeah. I know that I've been having stressful dreams. Dreams that I don't recall upon waking.

Other things that I usually notice that occur as I start getting all PMS-y ...

• I listen to LOTS of melancholy music. Like this:
  Katy Perry - Thinking of You
  (I really like that music video, btw. The CLOTHES! And the TRAGICNESSESSENCE!!! And that handsome boy from Kyle XY!! He's such a sweet boy.)
• I go grazing through the kitchen, yet usually cannot find anything that I want to eat. Sad.

Yeah. Weird, huh?

But, really. I promise that I'm not suicidal. I'm NOT going to cut myself ... partly because I'm just too dang practical and I don't need any new scars (I'm accident-prone ENOUGH as it is), I don't like pain, I have children that I'm responsible for, and it's just too dang expensive.

STILL, when the thought occurs to me that it just MIGHT be a good idea ... well, I know that the angry bees have arrived en masse. And that ... well ... there IS a reason for the crazy to hit the fan ... I don't have to LIKE it, but there's a reason.

And, really, it's only for a week. I can get through it. With my arsenal of good husband, good friends, (mostly-) good kids, GOOD bottle of Valerian capsules, and maybe some chocolate.

Well, we're still waiting to receive our tax return.

It was SUPPOSED to arrive today. Now the interweb tells us it'll be another three days.

*le sigh* Since it is tres, tres tragique.
(Yup, that nearly exhausts my French vocabulary. ... Unless you want to hear about monkey-pants. ... Yup.)

(Especially since, when I DO try to use the French language, I accidentally called my dear Cynthia a MAN. #>.<# Doh!!)

Yesterday, the plumbing freaked out.
So, OF COURSE, I freaked out.
Michael fixed it, well, mostly.
(I did man the plunger and administer copious doses of baking soda and vinegar.)
(But I did it while fretting and gnashing my teeth.)

I'm trying to be more motivated in doing the housework and DOING things.

The kids and I walked to the park. We picked up some venetian blinds (for free) from a neighbor. (You KNOW I can't resist FREE!!)
The blinds are too big. DOH! By FEET ... Yeah, I should measure those windows sometime, huh?
STILL ... if anyone it looking for, oh, a couple six-feet-wide blinds, lemme know, okay?

I keep losing my temper and yelling at my kids. It's not that I don't love them. I DO.
Sometimes I just find them VERY needy and annoying. And I know that I'm being selfish. I do love them. Really. I just need some space and quiet.

And then I give them hugs and we snuggle and watch a show or something.

Or I send them to their room to take a FREAKING NAP AND LEAVE ME IN PEACE, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! ... And then I use that time to become a little more pleasant and nurturing.

And then I feed them a snack and cuddle them a bit.

So, you know how (above) I mentioned that Michael worked on the plumbing? ... Here's a direct result:

"MOM!! The snake's in our bathroom!!!!"

Taken out of context (context, of course, being our house and the "speciallness" therein), you might think that there was a legless reptile inhabiting their lavatory, but no.
No, dear and gentle reader, that is not at all the case.

The plumber's snake is lying inert and harmless on the bathroom floor. Since neither Michael nor I could summon up the necessary energy needed to pack it up and put it back in the shop.
(I did, however, make the executive decision to keep the horking-big [YES, that IS a technical term. Shut up. Stop looking at me like that.] pliers in the house.

ALSO, I learned that there are vents in plumbing. Had NO idea.
I refer to the vent under our kitchen sink now as "the magical reset button."
(Though, in full disclosure, it seems less MAGICAL and more IN-POSSESSION-OF-A-MALICIOUS-SENSE-OF-HUMOR when one presses it and is unexpectedly splashed with backed-up drain water.)

(Not that I'd EVER know this from personal experience. Nooooooooooo. LOOK! OVER THERE! SOMETHING SHINY!!!!!)

But, yeah. I really .... have a complete and total lack of motivation.

BUT I have CRAZY HUGE BLINDS (that I cannot use. BOO! ... If they were shorter, I'd put them in the kids' room and our bathroom. But, ALAS and ALACK! They are just TOO FREAKING LONG). ... But, did I mention they were FREE??? ... At least when I manage a bit of an EPIC FAIL, I do attempt to keep it within our budget. ... So THAT's something in my favor, right?

Random Crap

My poor, neglected blog.

I know I SHOULD write ... but I've been undergoing a bit of a lack of motivation.

Can I blame it on the fact that I seem to have lost my sense of smell? (Stupid allergies/cold/sinus infection)

I feel disgusting, since I have to blow my nose, like, ALL THE TIME. And, most of the time, I can't smell anything.

Depressing, much?

How'm I supposed to be able to tell if my breath is rancid??? Ew.

Housework has been ... well, less of a priority than it should be. As you can tell by the PILE of fresh-oh-I-had-to-do-laundry-since-we're-almost out-of-underwear pile of laundry now ensconced on the couch. And the pile of I-am-ignoring-these-SHHHH!-You-can't-see-them dishes in the sink and on the counter.

Hey, at least I totally emptied out the catbox. Because I could actually SMELL that. But I was only able to start smelling it HOURS AFTER I had scooped out the nasty stuff. (*hums* Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are we feeding you?)

Michael feels confident about his performance on his PE exam (not P.E./Phys. Ed. ... This exam, when passed, makes one a LICENSED engineer) ... So, we just have to wait until he receives his score. Which should be June/July.

(Though why it takes TWO MONTHS to grade a Scantron sheet is completely beyond me. I've had Scantron-sheet test results returned to me within minutes ... but Michael surmises that it takes so dang long for the people to grade the test and take care of all the necessary paperwork.

Or something. Who knows? (Hint: NOT ME.)

This weekend, we went to the Oregon Garden for the first time. Since it was a special Earth Day celebration, there was no admittance fee. (We did pay for parking and for food from the booths -- we had strawberry lemonades and kettle and caramel corn. If we really wanted to splurge, we'd have also picked up some Yakisoba. It looked SO GOOD.) The kids had a pretty good time. They really wanted to ride the tram (usually the tram would be free ... the cost is included with admission. But, since there was no admission fee on Saturday, it cost $2 per person. And we just didn't feel like spending that much for a bus ride.)

We will go back sometime ... probably when more flowers are in bloom. ... And sometime without the kids. ... Then we'll shell out another $10 each and go for a tour of Gordon House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright).

Sunday, during our Sunday School class (right now, Michael and I are in one of the optional classes -- Family History), while I was updating a few things in my family tree, I was looking for the exact death date for a great-uncle of mine (died when my Nana was a teenager). I ended up at FindaGrave.com ... and while I was there, on a whim (or so it felt. Really, it was inspiration, pure and simple), I entered my Pop-pop's name ... and someone had posted a photo of it.

I saw my Pop-pop's gravestone for the first time.

Another person had included his obituary, which was nice. I mean, I know little bits about Pop-pop's life before I came into existence. I knew that he was in the Navy. I knew that he was a logger ... and, as time goes by, I just learn bits and pieces of additional information. He almost DIDN'T get into the Navy because, as he was enlisting, he found out that he was colorblind.

He was a Seabee during WWII. I have his diary from that time period. Bless his heart, but I come by my sporadic journaling habits naturally. Most of the days in that diary are blank. ^_^ But, when he did write, it was succinct ... mostly mentioning where they went. (I really haven't travelled anywhere at all.)

... As I've been doing family history (in sporadic bits off and on since ... well, since I first went to a Family History center with my Mom. I think it was in Seattle), I do learn interesting tidbits.
One of my mom's grandmothers or great-aunts would dye her hair black with shoe polish, for instance. And, though she lived on a reservation, she declared that all her children were ITALIAN. *raised brow* I like to think that she lived as a character in a Spaghetti Western. :P

So, yeah, there's a plug for genealogy/family history. (Besides, it gives me a topic for some great conversations with my Uncle Steve. He's TOTALLY into genealogy. ^_^)

We're just waiting for our tax-rebate check to arrive. Then we can pay off stuff ... and have a little money again. That'll be nice. ^_^

We did splurge and go out for Chinese food during the weekend. Bruise actually ATE dinner. (We went to Panda Express. Everyone got chow mein. Bucket's kid meal entree was Orange Chicken. Bruise opted for Chicken Potstickers. Michael and I had three-entree meals. He got Pepper Chicken, Beijing Beef, and Kung Pao Chicken [I always want to say it "Kung POW!" ... like in the 60s-style Batman show ... that is, IF they were talking about [American-]Chinese food). I had Orange Chicken, Broccoli Beef, and Cream Cheese Rangoon (my mom's Crab Rangoon is better. But these were tasty, too.) (And we use the fake crab in ours, anyways. And they're still DELICIOUS. ... I should make them sometime.)

Wow ... I spent a WHOLE paragraph on food. That and, in passing, the fact that they boy actually ATE decently at a meal. (I was pretty impressed, I have to say!)

Besides that, I've been reading and playing on Facebook. Yeah, WOOOOOOOO!!! Be jealous of my wildly exciting life!!!!

I still haven't been assigned my HAM radio call number. Boo. I keep checking the page, though.

So, yeah. I'm just waiting on that. ... Not like I have a radio to transmit with. Or even a receiver to listen to everyone else transmit. No biggie. Maybe after Michael passes his test, we'll invest in one. We'll see.

Sooooooooo, yeah. That's most of what all I can think of to blog about.

Yeah ... I'll try and post some funny stuff ...

[Michael and Bucket playing together. Bucket has her stuffed purple racoon, which is nomnomnom-ing on Michael]

Michael: WHY is your raccoon eating me???
Bucket: Because she's hungry and you're MADE OF MEAT!

Another Pigeon-book title that's come about in this family: Don't Let the Pigeon Eat Hello Kitty!

And Bruise assures us that he can't kiss girls in Primary. And that if he kisses his teacher, her husband (the Bishop) will beat him up. .... He didn't quite come up with this on his own. IT was in conversation.

I need another weekend. Not like I get a big, relaxing weekend for a few weeks. Saturday, Michael will be going to the temple for an EQ (Elders Quorum) temple trip. The next Saturday, I'll be getting up at the butt-crack of dawn for the YW (Young Women's) Garage Sale (we have one fundraiser a year. This will pay for Girls' Camp fees this summer). I'll be there, in charge of the Bake Sale table. 6 AM to 4 PM. I'm going to be SO. FREAKING. DEAD. .... I have to wake up and GET THERE at SIX IN THE MORNING. *sigh* It's a good thing that I really love these girls. ^_^

-----------

Another funny:

So, RIGHT before church started yesterday, one of my YW sat down on the pew with us. She and I were chatting a little. On Facebook, hers said that (through some application), I was her lover of the day. So I had responded with a Mr. Darcy line and joked that it was STRICTLY Platonic, or else it'd be against the Plan. ^_^).
She and I chatted a little in the chapel and I joked about being a bad example.
She leaned over past me and asked Michael, on my other side, loudly, "HOW DO YOU LIVE WITH HER????"
(She was joking a bit. But it was hilariously loud. Enough so, especially as people are quieting down for Sacrament Meeting to start, that quite a few people heard ... judging by the snickers and guffaws from a pew or a few behind us.)

Michael, with all aplomb, answered, "Very easily." What a nice man.

Okay ... I've managed to not murder my children as they're SO. DANG. NEEDY. ... And then my little boy breaks the ONE SLIDE that Michael has for his microscope. Ugh ..........

*headdesk.headdesk.headdesk.headdesk*

It's just one of those days.
One of those days where I start to think that I must be getting close to that devilcycle time when every woman rejoices and feels like wearing white spandex, dancing, and twirling -- maybe even in slow motion. At least according to those commercials.

*mutters* stupid commercials. stupid busy life.

ALL I WANT TO DO IS WAKE UP TO A CLEAN HOUSE AND HAVE HOURS TO READ!!
AND NO CRAVINGS!!

AND BE A SIZE 6!!

AND HAVE AN UNLIMITED INCOME!!

Is that really so much to ask?

Really, never mind me. I'm just a hormonal whack-job right now. Don't mind me. I'll be better in 7-10 days. Regular days, not business days, if we're lucky. :P

Somehow, amazingly, things are starting -- bit by infinitely small bit -- to come together.

• Bruise mastered the kazoo.
  Yes, I KNOW that it sounds kinda dumb. But my mom had bought some kazoos at the dollar store. And left them here. And they didn't work. So I grabbed my trusty kitchen shears and some wax paper and fixed them (Yes. I can put squares of wax paper into a kazoo. Amazing, huh?)
  BUT, Bruise was getting so frustrated because he kept BLOWING into the kazoo instead of HUMMING.
  But, as we drove home from church, I heard kazooing from the back of the car. I figured it was Miz Bucket, playing away. Until she started singing along to it.
  Now our boy is a kazoo-playing fool. ^_^
• The truck broke down ... And Michael replaced the spark plugs. All but one, which -- along with the necessary socket -- fell into the engine. So he had to buy a magnet to get them out. And ... well, it wasn't the spark plugs. STILL, he's able to borrow the work truck again. Which is a blessing. Since he'll be able to drive it up to take his HUGE TEST this week.
• I still haven't received my call sign for my HAM radio license (I keep using the search feature on the FCC's page) ... but, really, until I have a radio, it's not a huge thing.
• I received quite a few unsolicited compliments from the Young Women yesterday. Especially regarding my hair and makeup. Which made me feel REALLY GOOD.
• ESPECIALLY THIS ONE -- I was on the computer. And it froze. So I had to end up just turning it off. And it would NOT restart correctly. Even had the screen about "Your computer cannot start. There is no solution."
  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!
  So, I freaked out. I went to my room and PRAYED.
  And I called Michael and CRIED and asked him to pray, too.
  And I took a bath and PRAYED. And I read a little in the bath while I PRAYED.
  And I restarted it again. And PRAYED.
  And, OH THANKS BE, it worked! ... Now, I'm kinda scared to turn off the laptop ... But I just have to keep the faith, right?
  I SO, SO, SO love that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. Especially when they're answered quickly. (Hey, I can totally admit that I'm not one of the most patient people. Totally.)
• Bucket asked me to make her a paper airplane and it flew. Phew!

So, yeah ... amid the daily dose of "oh-crap-what-can-possibly-go-more-wrong?", there's some really, really, really good stuff.

Like how our "check engine" light in the van finally turned off again. *sigh of relief* I was really starting to wonder if something really was wrong. Glad to know it's not.

Now, once the tax refund comes in (only from federal. With state, we made LESS this year and we still totally owed taxes. Ugh.), we'll be out of any credit card debt. And that will be SO. DANG. NICE. I cannot wait.

Now, just send prayers and good thoughts for Michael to pass this test easily. We'd appreciate it!

(Also, Uncle Mike's back home. So that's a good thing. I don't know all the particulars, though. I'll let you know later, if you're curious. ^_^)

-------------------------------

Also, here's a random look into my life:

*as I'm putting in the DVD of "The Wizard of Oz" for the kids*

Bucket: FANK YOU, MOM! When I was a little baby, before I was born, when I was in your tummy, I wanted to watch this DVD.

(Now, if only I had known that, I'd have let her watch it YEARS ago! :P)

My kids are funny ...

[As we're driving to story time, listening to my iPod, Mr. Roboto comes on]

Bucket: Is this a Christmas song?

Me: (Wither the Fries? What??) NO! *tries not to laugh too hard*

Where does she get this stuff??

---------------

I may have mentioned (if not, I have forgotten to mention) that my kiddos LOVE books by Mo Willems. We're a Mo Willems-loving house.

So, as we drive places, the kids decide to make up their own Pigeon titles.
(The REAL titles are:

• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
  
• The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
• Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
• The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!
• The Pigeon Loves Things that Go!
  
• The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too!)

SOOOOoooooo, as I'm driving, I hear things like:

• The Pigeon FINDS A HIPPO!
• The Pigeon FINDS A BADGER-BADGER!
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive THE CAT!
• Don't Let the Pigeon EAT A TACO!
• The Pigeon FINDS A PRINCESS!
• The Pigeon Wants A LADYBUG!
• Don't Let the Pigeon TAKE A SHOWER!
  
  

And it goes on. And on ... And it can get REALLY crazy.

But, still ... my kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE any and all of the Willems books that we can get our hands on.

Yet another blog in which I catch up ... and talk of random things ...

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I did a REAL post.

Let's see ... where to begin?

Easter - We didn't really do a whole lot ON Easter. We'd already done pre-Easter egg hunts (with family and then one at a friend's birthday party). We talked about Jesus and the reasons why we celebrate the holiday. ... Gave the kids a DVD of The Princess and the Frog ... broke out some chocolate.

General Conference - For those of you not in-the-know about Conference, it's ... well, twice a year (first weekend in April and October) when the WHOLE church either watches or listens to (OR, if they're REALLY luck/able, GOES to Salt Lake City) our church leaders give addresses for the benefit of the entire church.

Personally? We watch it online (used to just listen to it online when we had dial-up. Unless we were at someone's house who has cable/satellite ... or we've gone to the church building [where they have satellite] to watch it) and try to keep the kids quiet enough so we can hear/concentrate on what is being said.

I think I'm getting better at listening. There were some really, really awesome/powerful talks. If you're at all interested/didn't get the chance to hear the talks, that link above will take you to the website where you can watch/listen/read any of the talks. If you can't wait until the May edition of the Ensign (or the Liahona ) comes out. (Those magazines are church publications. If you didn't already know.)

I still really miss hearing President Hinckley and Elder Maxwell ... and, oh, since we're able to watch it, I realize how much older our apostles are than I remember. ... Like Elder Packer. I don't know if he'll be around for October's conference. It always worries me a little when they have to stay seated to address us.

Still ... President Monson is 82 years old (and will be 83 before October's conference) ... and wow, he's so full of life and vigor. It makes me happy.

I'm very glad that we have a prophet on the earth, and living apostles. to guide us. It's reassuring and it makes me happy.

(Also, President Uchtdorf's talks were AMAZING. Of course, so were President Eyring's ... At this point, I don't know that I have a favorite apostle anymore. Everyone's talk at conference was SO. DANG. GOOD.)

This was the first year that I actually really checked Twitter during conference, using #ldsconf.
It was really great. I was able to write down some good quotes ... or leaders' names that I had missed. Technology has come so far ... and it amazes me. Especially when we're able to use it for such good things (like Family History and all ... SO GOOD).

Oh, and I know that this is kinda stupid and shallow ... but I'm SO GLAD that Easter was on General Conference weekend. I got to sleep in, stay in pajamas, and eat chocolate. ... Even though I had the cold from HADES and had lost my sense of smell ... and not being able to smell/taste chocolate is very less-than-fulfilling. :(
There have been years, though, when Easter's fallen on a Fast Sunday ... and it's been SO HAD to make it through until after church, when I've descended upon my Easter basket like a starving T-Rex. ... I'm just saying.
And I'm SO. GLAD that THIS was not one of those years. ^_^

Ham Radio License Exam -- For those of you on Facebook, this is old news (as of a few days) ... But I took my test for my radio license.

I passed!

I could have missed nine and still passed ... I missed three.
Two of them (I have to assume, since you don't get to see which of the multiple-choice questions you missed. You're only told how many you missed), were questions that I hadn't studied. Oops! Which means that the other one was probably something that I just answered totally incorrectly. Still, it worked out to be, like, a 91% ... So that was good.

I didn't attempt to take the General-level test. I haven't studied for that one ... and, though it WOULD have been free at the time, I was eager to go home (and eat dinner, since I had to skip out in order to make it to the test on time). ^_^

My Birthday - Well, as of yesterday, I'm 29 years old. ... Kinda weird, huh?

I received tons of well-wishes from friends on Facebook ... and a few phone calls (my Grampy in California and my dad). I got a few cards in the mail.

And I got a package! ... Here's a little backstory:

So, last month, Mom and I ordered some shirts and a skirt from DownEast Basics the evening of St. Patrick's Day. We did receive an email that they were sold out of one shirt in the order (and they'd wait three days to hear from us to include something else in the order before refunding the cost of that shirt). And we waited and waited and waited for it to arrive. I almost was wondering if, maybe, someone stole them or something. (I know that I blogged about this before ... so I'll keep it short.) ... THEN, then finally arrived. And they all fit and are cute and wonderful.

SOOOOOOOO ... We had ordered a few more shirts Tuesday evening.
And I figured that it'd take, like last time, about a week or so for them to arrive.

They came yesterday. ON MY BIRTHDAY.

Oh, yeah! Awesome birthday surprise, no??

Like, I said, Mom was up this week. With my Aunt Julie. And they came up Tuesday and left Thursday morning. We had my birthday dinner (beef stroganoff and salad, with strawberry cheesecake and ice cream for dessert) Tuesday night (since I had my test Wednesday. And Michael had EQ visits). Wednesday was pizza night. ^_^

Thursday, Michael came back shortly after leaving for work, and needed me to drive him in. I woke up Mom and asked if she and Ju could watch the kids till I got back (about 1.5 hours total), and went with Michael down, and drove the van back. And then made the trip with the kids again that afternoon.

And Wednesday, the hall toilet showed serious signs of being plugged. So, after Michael got back from visits, we took it apart, put it in the tub, and tried to get whatever was causing the problem out. We had limited success. It's working a LITTLE better. And I mutter under my breath that it's a possessed, devil toilet. Michael's offered that, when we replace it, I can smash it apart to figure what the problem is ... I was pretty eager ... then I started to wonder ---
WHAT IF it's like Pandora's box? If I smash it open, what new evils will be released to prey upon the world? WHAT IF IT'S THE NEW HELLMOUTH?? (I know, I know, I've watched too many episodes of Buffy, right? ANSWER: Not possible.)

Thursday night, after we got back from bringing Michael home, I went to my ward's Relief Society Meeting (Seriously, I'm so ashamed to say this, but it's been MONTHS since I last was at a RS Meeting. :S) ... It was fun. There were Young Women there, so I was totally with friends. And, truly, I like all the ladies there regardless. We also had a clothing and book exchange. I picked up some Bible story books for our church bag, some board books for Bruise, and a LOT of the Disney Small World collection (each book is about a country/nation) for Bruise and Bucket.

....

So, back to my birthday (YES, I AM getting on with it), Michael worked on the truck while the kids and I watched the first episode of BBC's The Blue Planet. Bruise and I ate cheesecake for breakfast, we played with bubbles in the driveway, the kids rode their tricycles to the park and played (I got to spin in these weird-chair-things with them and got INCREDIBLY dizzy. ... But not too dizzy to NOT laugh uproariously at my children stumbling around like they were little drunks. :P), came home, let the kids watch another show, they had naptime, and then we got them dinner and ready for bed.

It was a pretty wonderful day ... except when poor Michael's socket and LAST spark plug fell into the engine ... and had to wait for him to buy a telescopic magnet this morning so he could finish working on the truck.

Today, I need to bake bread (I have bread dough in the fridge) and spray around the house so the STUPID, STUPID ANTS stop coming into our house. (Seriously, it's disturbing, getting ready to take a bath and seeing, like TEN tiny ant corpses around the back of the tub. WHY????)

I still am getting over my cold. I'm really ready for it to be over. ... At least it's nowhere near as HORRIBLE as it was earlier in the week. Like last weekend, where I couldn't smell ANYTHING. Or Tuesday and Wednesday, where I had my husky, husky voice.

My cough is MOSTLY gone. And my nose isn't so awfully runny. Phew! But I'd really like to stop needing to blow it, oh, CONSTANTLY.

Yeah, I'm a whiner.

A whiner who had a pretty darn awesome birthday. It wasn't anything wildly exciting ... but I don't NEED wildly exciting days.

Besides, two of my YW dropped by the house to serenade me! I was touched! Seriously, how sweet is that?

I really have very wonderful friends. I appreciate you all. You're the best birthday present EVER. And I get you MULTIPLE YEARS. ^_^

And, hey, since I have a few coupons for free birthday swag -- ice cream, hamburger ... Now I just have to actually LEAVE the HOUSE to get those. :P

But, hey, I have really cute shirts to wear when I do it.

(And, since I saved my skirt and one of my shirts to wear to church, I'm super excited to go! ^_^)

If you were a cheese, what cheese would you be?

Yay!! Someone ASKED me a question again! Thanks!

Okay ... Um ... I would have to say Feta. It's fun to say, slightly tangy, and can fall apart easily (kinda like yours truly).

That and my cousin claimed Gouda. ^_^

But, if I weren't Feta cheese, I'd either be a smoked cheddar (YUM!) or string cheese.

(Again, thanks to whoever posted the question! I LOVE when I don't have to assign myself a random question. ^_^)

Ask me anything

If you had the opportunity to live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose?

I really don't know. I've thought and thought about it.

I mean there are years that I'd love to go back and slap my younger self and be all, "Don't be stupid!" or "Now, when so-and-so says this, HERE's what you should say." or something like that.

Or there are the times that I'd love to go back and live over ... so that I could enjoy them once again -- moving the lawn with Pop-pop, cleaning Grandma Darlene's tea cup collection ...

Yes, there are things that I do regret doing. Or not doing. Or not appreciating.

I mean, if I had my life to live over again, I'd make better habits -- learn to enjoy exercising, learn to love to study my scriptures ... But there's not just one year that I'd want to visit/live over.

... Or, as Michael put it, "one year where I could save lots of money so we'd have it now." Ha!

Or, you know, maybe I'd go to my younger self and tell her to stop being so dang annoying. Because I really was. Oy.

Ask me anything