How's YOUR day? *head tilt*

The kids climbed in bed with me around 6:15. Before Michael has even let for work. 
I WAS asleep.

I tried to doze.

Then my dear, sweet, demure daughter farted in my face. (Not on purpose, but STILL.)

A few minute later, I realized my back was wet. Why?

Then I came to the realization that my back was WARM and WET.

Bucket had wet through her Pull-Up.

In our bed.

All before 7 AM.

Now it's a quarter after 8. I need to exercise, shower, get the kids dressed, and take them to storytime.

And actually do the dishes and fold/put away the laundry today. I NEED to do it.

*sigh*

So, um, yeah ... How's your day going?

Chilly ...

Seriously, after last week, where I had to turn on the air conditioner ... now I'm FREEZING!

Oh well. No big. It's springtime in Oregon! It's not like it's some huge surprise.

I didn't really exercise at all during the weekend. I was good on Thursday, when I used the treadmill before packing and everything for our little trip to visit my folks. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, though? (We got home Saturday evening) Nuttin'.

So, today I tried out my Bollywood Booty DVD that I ordered as a birthday present, thanks to my sweet stepsister sending me a gift certificate to eBay. So I got myself Strictly Ballroom (which, if you haven't seen it, HIE THEE HENCE!!) It's rather darling. And I really like movies that involve dancing. Bride and Prejudice? Excellent! Mrs. Winterbourne? That tango scene? LOVE IT! Even though Dance with Me isn't the bestest movie ever, I still love the dancing. Especially that cute gal ... the one who says, "I wanna do that, too!" Adorable. ... And if you see a version of Shall We Dance, please, for the love of all that is good and holy in the world, see the Japanese version. NOT the Richard Gere remake. Do it for the children! If you don't, the terrorists will win. *intense nodding* Yup, yup.

BUT, as I was saying, I did the WHOLE Bollywood Booty workout. It is pretty fun. And I was sweating GLOWING rather a lot, so I know it's working.

Michael did mention that he can tell that I'm getting more toned around the midsection. Phew!
(also, THANKS, Hon! I appreciate it!)

Well, I don't have a whole lot to share ... nothing really great. If you were wondering about the book review that I posted this morning ... if you join one site, they'll send you a free book to review. Once you post a review on a commercial-type site (Amazon, B&N, etc.) and your blog, you can get another book. For free. To review. And keep.

So, sometime this week, I need to post another review (I've had this book for at least a month ... but there wasn't any due date. The Noticer, however, is available for sale starting tomorrow. They requested reviews be posted today to help generate buzz. And, hey! If you like Mitch Ablom books, totally read this one. It's not the bestest book ever in the history of time or anything, but it was good. And I was able to get through it in an evening. Which helped. Since I'm a terrible procrastinator horribly busy. CLEANING HOUSE and GETTING IN SHAPE FOR THAT WEDDING and reading blogs and playing games on Facebook THINKING ABOUT DOING YARD WORK or READING TO MY CHILDREN ... or something. Yeah.

But I DO need to clean the house (do a load of dishes, sweep, vacuum, fold Mt. Laundry, do another load or two of laundry ... put all that laundry away ... watch a couple of DVDs that will be due tomorrow ... Read and review another book. Read some library books ... Spend time with MAH BAYBEES ... stuff like that).

And get a shower so I don't break out again. Maybe it'd help if I kept with my routine of washing my face at night? Do you think? *rolls eyes*

Book Review - The Noticer by Andy Andrews

The Noticer starts with Andy living under a boardwalk in coastal Florida. He hates his life, feels completely abandoned by his parents’ recent deaths, and is doing all he can do to keep himself fed and reasonably sane.

One evening, his solitude is disturbed by a stranger … a stranger who knows his name and knows that his parents have died. Andy is a little disturbed that this stranger knows all these things about him – how? The stranger describes himself as “a noticer,” he notices details that a lot of people overlook. He helps Andy, among others, to change their perspective in life for the better. This book, more than being about Andy’s change, is about the impact of one’s perspective on one’s life, relationships, and overall happiness.

 

As I read this book, I enjoyed the ways that Andy Andrews incorporated wisdom that he’s gleaned over his life into this fiction work. At times, it reads almost like a real-life study … especially since the protagonist shares the author’s first name.

 

Andrews writes characters and ideas that are easy to relate to: an adult left on his own after his parents’ deaths, a married couple at the end of their rope, teenagers wondering about marriage, a man trying to provide his ideal of living for his family …

There are some parallels between Andrews’ writing and some other books that I’ve read in the past. One chapter draws on the ideas from Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. There are also some similarities in tone to Mitch Ablom’s books, which I have also enjoyed.

 

This is a good allegorical work with some very important life lessons. It’s also a refreshing and enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it. 

I was able to review this as a member of the Thomas Nelson Book Review group:  http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

Progress ... I think

I am still doing okay on eating more healthfully. I did eat a lot of pizza last night ... but it was so good.

I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill yesterday. 20 minutes today. While the kids are napping, I'm going to do a workout ... maybe two if I really feel productive.

I have a load of dishes to do. But just the one. Which is pretty awesome for me.

The kids are still sick. They're not running fevers today so far ... so hopefully that part is over. They are still coughing and snuffed up (Bucket more than Bruise).  Bucket woke up last night, coughing enough that she threw up. Fun.

I spent most of the kids' naptime yesterday in the shop, going through boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes ... Found a good deal of stuff for starting a little preschool thing, regardless of whether it's with the group of gals from church or if it's just T and me.

I also FINALLY found my workout-type stuff: yoga mat, strap, blocks (which are a little worse for wear), a few weights, some resistant bands/cords. And jump ropes. I also have a new kickball for the kids and a nice long jump rope. If I get another, maybe with some SERIOUS help, I could finally learn how to do double-dutch.

(Knowing how long it took me to learn to jump into a moving jump rope, I have some deep reservations on trying double-dutch. It looks AMAZINGLY cool when other people do it ... I just have some phobias about being hit in the face with those spinning ropes. Eeeps.)

I really wish that all health plans would cover chiropractic and massage. 
I'm just saying. My back isn't terribly sore or anything. 
And the massage? Total bonus. I think that everyone would be so much better off with a weekly massage to look forward to. Wouldn't you agree?

And I think that pedicures should be covered under mental health procedures. Maybe that's because I always feel so much happier and more feminine when my little piggies are all pretty and pampered.

Yeah, if I ran the world, there would be some things that would be quite different. Like, prisoners wouldn't have any priviliges that the common citizen doesn't. 
I'm just saying that *I* don't get free cable or healthcare or gym benefits. And I'm one of the taxpayers.

I also think that second-time offenders need to make TOTAL reparations ... and maybe have a swift removal from all forms of society. Yeah, check me out, Mizz Mercifulificity. (Can you tell that I'm a little angsty and hormonal?)

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

Total different topic: My kiddos are cute.

As I was on the treadmill, listening to my iPod, Bruise and Bucket are bouncing around, "Mommy, you exercising! You walking! You exercising so you feel better!!"

Yeah, I do have my own little cheerleading section. Which ... well, totally rocks.

Gack!!

Why does it seem that once you START to get things in order, suddenly EVERYTHING snowballs into a giant whirlwind of "ohmycrap"ness??

So, I am still a little sick. Saturday, Michael and Bucket came down with the creeping crud. Bucket's nearly better today (just stuffy and coughing -- Not like yesterday when my little princess was fine with not going to church, telling me that "I not feel so good"). Bruise woke up last night with a fever and the cough ... he's almost completely better. Phew. Michael's still not feeling 100%, but he's back at work.

I tried on the dress/ensemble/thing that I'll be wearing at my friend's wedding this summer. TOO TIGHT. 
ACK! I should have known that playing all those Facebook games and eating all the food at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter ... and all the candy from and in-between those holidays was going to catch up with me!

SO, I've started a little exercise regime ... and I'm trying to eat more healthfully. I've done my new resistance-bands workout (I got a set with the three bands on sale at Joe's) twice so far this week. And I used my treadmill today. Got to break in my new playlist I spent a good deal of my sick-day yesterday building. (Note to people: "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen? Awesome song for walking/jogging/running. I'll let you guess what most of my half-house on the treadmill was spent doing.)

(Also, I'll be waiting for a couple of weeks for some CDs I put on hold to come in at the library. Yay for more workout music! Yay especially for radio-edits of fun workout songs that I wouldn't be able to listen to around my children otherwise!)

Funny story: The other evening, Michael and the kids were watching YouTube videos on his computer. He started looking up ones with princesses in them for Miss Bucket. One, I guess, had a Britney Spears song ... and after she states, "I'm Britney, b****," he quickly changed that one ... to "My Humps" by Black Eyed Peas. 
That set me off laughing because (1) Michael's uneasy letting the kids listen to PCD (Pussycat Dolls) with their provacative lyrics ... and (2) he OBVIOUSLY wasn't remembering the lyrics in this song ("What you gonna do with all that ***, all that *** inside your jeans?" ... No, I'm NOT going to tell you how I know these lyrics so well. But I will tell you that if you've seen the original BEP music video of "My Humps," that the cover by Alanis Morrisette is right HILARIOUS. Just sayin'.)

In other news, as I was surfing the webernet yesterday, the click-wheel on my mouse up and died. Now I'm using the other mouse that Michael had with his older laptop. ... I don't think I care for it so well. I mean it's sleek and black and has a little cushy bit for your palm to rest on ... Maybe if I try it without my (getting-beat-up) cheap-o mousepad (Hey! It was cute and on clearance at Borders!), it might work better. If not, I'm sure that I have my old mouse still in the shop. Somewhere. Maybe.

Also, while trying to get that new playlist that I worked so hard on onto my iPod, ... well the dang thing wouldn't work. It would tell me that my iPod was corrupted and that I'd have to restore it ... and then it'd say that the restore failed ... but, I did remember that I've recently updated the software and it needed a restart to finish the installation --- Thankfully, that did the trick. Phew! Because I needed a nice, new playlist. It makes me happy.

I also am all anti-social-ish and insomniac. Thanks, Mother Nature. Maybe Miz Britney Spears was referring to you in her intoduction? She sure could have been. I wouldn't really argue. *rolls eyes significantly*

Well, I have T coming over with her son, J. I need to do a load of dishes ... and get a little more caught up on the laundry. Wish me luck. ^_^

Oh, and I don't know how many of you are on Facebook with me. There was a little interesting story there:
I had remarked that I had a virus (the snot-fest that I've mentioned before). I also remarked in my status update that I was feeling lethargic.
One of my friends commented that "That's the pregnancy talking ... did I just tell everyone?"

Funny, sure. Except that people jumped on that. Two of my friends and one of my cousins are all, "Allanna, are you PREGNANT? Are you holding out on us???"

I'm not pregnant. Not at all. (As you can infer from a few paragraphs above, I'm SURE that I'm not pregnant.)

So, because my friend, D, loves to start a rumor (and is completely unrepentant about it, cheeky girl!), I had to change my status to read "Allanna is NOT PREGNANT. SHE HAD A VIRUS. WITH LOTS OF SNOT." ... Well, that's the gist of it.

Though I do have on a pair of my maternity jeans today. Because they're blisfully loose and don't ride up in places that denim should definitely NOT be visiting. NOT because I am a sacred vessel. Because the only thing in my belly is a weight-loss shake from Costco.

Yup, that's how I'm rolling today. 

Now, off to do those dishes. *sigh*

Birthday Aftermath/Easter Extravaganza

The day before my birthday, my mom called to let me know that my Stepdad wasn't feeling well ... and since he's of the previous generation (read: In his current age, he needs someone to help take care of him when he's sick), she wouldn't be able to come up. :(

So she and I were stiff-upper-lipping it to each other, saying that we'd get together as soon as we could ... that (from her) would it be okay if she came up next week and (from me) that it's important that she take care of my stepdad, that I'd be okay, that one can help these things.

Well, my stepdad was feeling better, so unbeknownst to me, Mom came up! I was just putting on a DVD and getting ready to paint my nails ... since I had put the kids to nap (which they did NOT do) after going to storytime and watching a show or two. 

As I put it to Bri when she called to wish me a happy birthday, "It was a total surprise! I had to button my pants!" (Yes, I had unbuttoned my jeans to paint my nails. Yeah, I need to start walking on the treadmill or something, huh?)

But it was a great surprise. Mom had checked with Michael to make sure that she wouldn't be encroaching on any plans that he might have lined up ... Nope. It was perfect. I had gotten caught up on the dishes, I had my mom up, we all went out to dinner and had delicious Mexican food ... Michael and I went out shopping (No, I STILL don't know what I really want for my birthday). Life is good.

I got quite a few calls -- my dad, Aunt J, Grampy (which was a surprise -- he apologized for not getting my card in the mail earlier. I had just assumed that I'd fallen under the radar. He has quite a few grandkids.), Bri ...

My (AWESOME) visiting teachers had brought me a (DELICIOUS) Coldstone Creamery cupcake (try saying THAT three times fast. Go ahead. I'll wait) ... which I devoured after putting the kids into naptime ... or an attempt at naptime.

I had bazillions of friends on Facebook (some of whom I only know through games ... they really didn't have to) wishing me a happy birthday. I feel very, very loved.

(And to my friends that forgot/were a little late, no worries. I know that y'all love me. Or at least tolerate me.)

Mom headed home Saturday, so it was a nice visit. Bruise and Bucket enjoyed all the Easter loot they acquired ... baskets from Mutti (my mom) on Thursday, Grandma and Grandpa (Mom and Dad C) Saturday night (AND playing with their cousins! Such joy!!), and the loot from us Sunday morning --- I'm thrilled to say that our IKEA purchases were a hit! Bucket loves her little Duktig tea set; Bruise was practically off-the-wall with his Lillabo train. It has a TUNNEL! It has a BRIDGE! It's so like the one at the library!

Grandma and Grandpa were able to come to church with us ... and so were Michael's Grandma and Grandpa (I'm resolving to try and go over to visit them at least once every two weeks. They only live across town. It's not like it's HARD to go see them). 

Since Mom and Dad C took the kidlets to Nursery, as Michael and I walked to pick them up (the munchkin brigade, not Mom and Dad ... they had to take off after they took the kids to their class), I joking said to Michael, "Hey, you want to bet that [Bucket]'s first remark will be 'Where's Grandma and Grandpa?'" ... We laughed about it for a sec ... and sure enough, I was completely correct. As if it had been scripted, even!

I made ham and mashed potatoes (the cream I had went bad, so I used sour cream in them --- good idea! Theyre were delicious!) and roasted broccoli. 

I'm back to having my gnarly post-nasal drip-thing. I don't know for sure if it's allegies or just a random virus -- I'm hoping for the virus, so that I won't have to anticipate being all snuffed-up and miserable whenever I do yardwork (Did I mention that, in preparation for Easter, I TRIED to clean up the yard? I seriously did some pruning and raking -- And then it rained Easter morning, so we didn't even consider hiding the eggs in the yard. And it was hella cold, too).

So, I'm doing my sick-thing today. I'm in my robe, sipping hot drinks -- beef bouillon cubes right now -- to help my poor sore throat ... and, wow, I should REALLY buy stock in Kleenex; I've been using more than enough. *sigh* And I get to wake up in the middle of the night with my nose completely stuffed ... Wah wah wah. Poor me.

I was feeling better for a couple days. I think it's gotten a little worse, since Michael and I were staying up so late during the weekend. My bad. 

Oh, I got a haircut with my mom. It's cute. It's not a huge change ... Bri, if you remember the haircut I got from you? It's pretty much the exact same cut. Funny, huh? I was looking at a picture of Rosemund Pike (from the newer version of Pride and Prejudice and Die Another Day, that James Bond one where she's Madonna's fencing protege?), and I loved her hair!
Turn out that it's my (grown-out) haircut ... just with some styling! How funny!

And it's still long enough that I won't have any problems in putting it back into an up-do for my friend's wedding this summer. (I was going to wait to cut my hair until after the wedding ... but I was really tired of my grow-out, so I went for it, knowing that, hey, if it's a little short, I'd still have some time to get used to it/grow it out a little before the wedding.)

So, yeah, that's most of what's gone on ... besides Bruise playing with the train and talking about "jelly beams" ... It's been a good, if a little busy, week. 

Now, just to get over this sinus-thing. Ugh. I think I'm going to mandate naptime today. And it'll be mandatory for ME, too.
That and some time watching the Colin Firth P&P before I have to return it to the library.

And then I'll tackle the housework that was negated by all the Easter excitement and Bucket trailing easter grass all over the house. And the "jelly beams" in the carpet. *sigh* But, at least, the kiddos have had lots of fun. So it's worthwhile, right?

Smile ... You are wonderful.

Okay, this is so frakkin' adorable. It's 16 minutes long; it's totally and completely worth it. (Okay, in all honesty, it is a little schmaltzy at the end ... but so darling!)



And, hello!! It's Hodge-Podge from Bones!! I LUFF him!!
(Seriously, a few season ago, I LOVED the exchange between him and Angela -- "Did you just SMELL my HAIR?" It makes me smile.)

But, really, this is a really excellent short film. I like it very, very much. 
So I wanted to share it with you.

I hate my sinuses ...

With THAT out of the way,  you should be really proud of us.

This weekend, we (mostly meaning Michael):

• installed a water line for the new fridge's ice machine/water spout-thing
• did our taxes
• cleaned our bedroom
• cleaned the living room
• cleaned the stove/oven
• got it so that the oven's more level
  
• watched some DVDs from the libraries
  We watched Fun with Dick and Jane, Horton Hears a Who, ... and we're now on the last disc of season one of Pushing Dasies ... which is REALLY cute.

This morning, I got the kids in some clothes and we (meaning ME) worked on the yard a bit. I filled up the yard waste recepticle with some branches and leaves ... I trimmed some of the shrubbery (oh, how I LOVE that word! Makes me think of Monty Python ... and makes it a little more worthwhile to have itching eyes and a Niagra-like flow from my nose. Yech!) ... I still need to rake a buttload (YES, that IS a technical term) of leaves (the ones that fell since I raked last ... in, like, November) and weed the yard. *sigh*

I need to research some good weed killer-stuff. Any recommendations?

I also finished addressing, sealing, and stamping the invites for my friend's bridal shower. And they are in the mail! Woot!!

Before the Strengthening the Family seminar, I was able to print off some rolls and stuff for Young Women's. Phew!  Now I need to work at getting the May calendar totally ready to be handed out by the ... let's see ... 26th. So I have a little time. Phew.

The kids are sacked out, waiting for me to get lunch ready, watching The Sword in the Stone. 
I have tons of laundry on the bed, waiting for me to fold it. But I'm more than halfway through washing all the dirty clothes. I figure that, after I get the kids to lie down for a nap, I can fold laundry while I watch The Jane Austen Book Club (since it's due back at the library tomorrow) ... and rake another receptical-full of leaves the H out of our yard. And do the dishes (so the kitchen will be almost totally clean. And try and read through a book or two ... And get a shower.

And I need to take a couple things out to the shop ... and grab stuff for dinner while I'm out there. Go me, having ANY idea of what to cook for dinner before 5:30 PM!! Yay me!!

But I've worked on cleaning little bits of our bathroom. And I cleaned the kids' bathroom yesterday. I need to vacuum the kids' room sometime. And I should read to them today.  But our room looks SO GOOD! Like, really, really good. Once I get all the clothes off the bed, I can make the bed and it's gonna look EXCELLENT.

And, before family comes into town, I can get the desk and the kitchen counter all cleaned up ... and we'll be doing great. And maybe my allergies (which I never USED to have this badly ... if at ALL. Stupid dust. And grass pollen. *sigh*) will quit being such a total punk-butt.

Yes, you are in total AWE of my mad vocabulary skillz. (Drat my German classes, though. I keep wanting to spell "vocab" the German way, since it's a totall cognate -- "vokab" ... It's not the only word that I have to remind myself to spell the American/English way, though. Just one of the bigger ones.)

Oh, and, btw, I gave up waxing. I'm happily hair-free and thrilled to be reunited with my razor. I might try a professional waxing sometime. But, really ... I was totalling things up ... and if I got ALL the waxing done I'd want (armpits, whole leg, bikini-area) I'd be spending around a hundred bucks. Ouch. Just THINK of how many books I could buy with that! I could get PAIRS of SHOES! I could buy some hardware for my computer! It ALMOST covers the cost of Publisher 2007 (which I'd like) ... I just don't know. I mean, I can't even bring myself to pay for a PEDICURE, I'm that frugal (read: CHEAPO!!) ... Yeah.

Maybe if we suddenly start raking in the bucks ... and, gosh, if we did, I TOTALLY know how to spend those bucks. I'm so GOOD for the economy, given the chance. ^_^

Gosh, can you tell that I'm kinda tired? Yeah, I am. I'm being even more random than normal ... if such a thing is possible. *sigh*

My Children ...

I'm going to be totally honest -- Going into this whole motherhood-gig, I totally knew that (with me as a mother), they'd definitely need some therapy.

Exhibit 1 - At the aquarium yesterday, Bucket is happily going through the gift shop. She has a killer whale toy in one hand and a wind-up diver in the other. She happily turns to me as she plays and chirps, "Look! It eatin' him!" 

Um ... yes, obviously my children are aware of the circle of life. And, obviously-er, they've inherited my sense of humor ... since I really, really wanted to laugh until I needed a clean set of underdrawers.

OR

Exhibit 2 - As Bruise comes out of the bathroom from taking a bath, he's crouched over and shuffling, hands over his crotch.
"Wook, Mom! Mah pen!s is gone!"

I really have no comment on that one, though it does remind me of a conversation with Bucket from the other day:

I was warning her of what would happen if she got gum in her hair (namely, that we'd have to get it out)
ME: And then we'd have to cut your hair short ...
Bucket: And I'd be a BOY!
Michael and I exchange a look
Michael: Bucket, you would still be a girl.
Me: Your hair length has little to do with your gender, baby. You'd still be a girl. You're never going to be a boy, okay?

I mean, really ... from how much my kids tell me that they're male/female based on the fact that they have an anatomically-correctly-named parts, you'd think that they'd GET things like that. Silly children.

At the Strengthening the Family seminar (about effective communication with your teen/pre-teen), Bucket didn't want to play with the other kids ... so, as Bruise happily interacted socially, Bucket sat with Michael and me for a lecture. Overall, she was okay. Michael did have to take her out to talk to her about the importance of being quiet so everyone else can listen ... and the fact that if Mommy can't listen to a lecture and take notes, she starts to go completely apoplectic. 
(Well, I wasn't privy to the whole conversations ... so I can only guess at how he put it.)

(And that part about me? Totally true. It stresses me out. I WANT to be able to listen. I don't think I've been able to focus on a talk in Sacrament meeting since the kids were born. And now I'm TERRIBLY out of practice of being able to pay any attention at all to a talk/lecture. It's like child-induced ADD. *sigh*)

By the by, Bucket is BEYOND excited to go to school. Poor girl.  She's going to be nearly six before she gets to attend, since she's got a winter birthday. I think she'll be beyond thrilled when T and her son and Bruise, Bucket and I do the little preschool-y thing that T proposed doing.

Today, we cleaned the ward building (well, we did our part) then hurried home to listen to General Conference. We set up the kids with a show in the living room and took Michael's laptop to the bedroom  (thanks be for wireless internet! I pink, puffy heart DSL!) and listened to conference while we worked at cleaning our bedroom ... and sneezed about a bazillion times. 
We dusted and put up the curtains that Dianne so nicely passed onto me ... they look so pretty! ... and I went through at least 40 lbs. of magazines. We hung upt clothes, sorted through things, and I rearranged the piles of books on my shelves. It's nice to be able to walk in there now. I have a sinking feeling that we'll be tackling the bathroom (with even MORE piles of magazines that I really WANT to read through ... but never seem to have the time to do!) tomorrow.

But, I'll have to say, it was really nice having the kids occupied in another room. I actually had the chance to try and LISTEN to talks. Sweet!

Also, I got a pair of pants for Michael -- slacks, brand new, flat-front -- $10 on clearance. Go me. So he had pants to wear to priesthood session, since I had thrown his other slacks (two pairs) into the washer. Oops.

My children need a nap. Thank goodness that it's nearly badtime. I think that after we tuck the kids in, we'll watch a couple episodes of Pushing Daisies. (I checked out Season One from the library) So far, the pilot was really cute. It's funny to recognize some characters from other shows. The male lead was Michael in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (which, if you haven't seen it, is quickly becoming a new favorite movie of mine). And one of the aunts ... I KNEW that I recognized her ... and that she had different colored hair in whatever I knew her from ... It's AUDREY from Little Shop of Horrors! So funny! It's good to see that she's still doing things. ^_^

So, yeah ... that's most of what's going on. That and I am AMAZING. I have my friend's bridal shower invites printed off and folded ... Just need to address the envelopes, seal, stamp and send them off. Woot!!