Good luck my Friend

I get a call from my friend yesterday, and I try to provide support to them, and hopefully help persuade them to make the right decisions.

They currently fear the worst for their life is ending near, and no hope is possible for them. You provide your words of wisdom, and you try to encourage them to not give up, and to keep succeeding.

They fear everyone is against them, and not for them.

They can’t find the right road or path to take, but yet you suggest solutions and or alternative that may help them through this tough time.

They think taking the easy way out is the only solution for them. They want to get up and leave the state, thinking that’s their only resort for them. When really, it’s not, and there is life here for them right where they are. They just need to open their eyes.

They need to take on the responsibility of being an adult, help their child live the best life possible, and take on responsibility as living a life as an individual.

I know they can do it, if they were only to try, and succeed at what they are good at, they could make a positive life for themselves.

Knowing that they can do it, would then prove to their family that they are capable of doing most things and that they do not have to reliant on their family for support, and help to live their life normally.

I hope they only choose the right path to go down, and that they realize that their family, friends, and loved ones are here for them. If they would turn to the Lord, and ask for his guidance, he would put them on the appropriate road to live their life happily.

Will my words help them make that right choice, or will my words be shot down, and not listened to? Only time will tell!

Good Luck my Friend..

Irritated with the Preschool schedule.

I have been really irritated with my son's preschool schedule lately. Currently he attends the ECSE Preschool class in Anoka. He loves the school and is doing Fabilious.

However, I have been quite upset lately with the class schedule he was put into. Currently he's in the P.M. class. How they determine this, I have no idea, nor do i want to know how they can determine that a 3 year old will be okay with the 1-4 schedule. Hello people! Do you not keep in mind that 3 year olds need to have naps still? I mean really, come on! Who is making this crazy decision anyway..

So, when Austin comes home from school, he's completely exhaused, screaming with frustrations, and is impossible to calm down. So, by the time we eat supper, he's basically falling asleep in his food by 5:00 p.m. I try to keep him up as late as I can, usually it's 7ish, so he's not up at 5 a.m. and then completely exhaused for the next day.

I think trying to adjust to this schedule is going to take time for me and for Austin. I think what we need to do is feed Ausitn dinner when he gets home from school, give him a bath, put him in his jammies, and hopefully he poops out by 7p.m.

Now, that would be just super if I could make that happen!

Uggh, preschool..Now I know why I didn't like school so much when I was younger... :)

Saying goodbye to my baby, as he moves onto preschool.

The day has finally come. I thought it would never happen, nor did I really want it to. I have been watching my 3yr old grow up for the past 3 years, and it is now time for me to let him go.

He is going to fly like bird, soar like an eagle, and achieve to the highest depths his world will let him go. I have no dough that there will be bumps in the roads ahead, but we will travel those bumps together. There will be times when you feel all alone, and no where to turn but during those times honey, just remember I am right there with you. Obstacles will stand in your way, but just know those obstacles no matter how large or how small they are, your little mind can over come them.

You will meet new people and develop friendships that will hopefully last a life time. There will be cruelty, hurt, and resentment that come along with those friendship. Always remember that you can catch more files with honey then you can with vinegar, and remember to just be the bigger person, and not let those times get you down.

Always remember that you can succeed in anything you do, and always strive to be the best that you can be. I will love you no matter how many times you fall down, no matter how many times you have to get back up and try again, or no matter how many times you show you just put your whole heart and soul into something and just could not make it work. I will always love you for you, and I am so proud of you!

You have come so far these last 3 years, to which I never thought you would. You have proven me wrong with your developmental disabilities, and that's just to show me, that you can achieve anything, and will succeed to the highest degree in your education.

Good luck today on your 1st day of school, and Enjoy yourself!!

I love you sweetie!

Cash for Clunkers hurts the poor..

This is a well-written letter-to-the-editor that was in today's paper.

Comments on Cash for Clunkers ("Clunker program is wasteful," Aug. 4) were right on target. Why are we spending billions on destroying slightly used cars?

This program reminds me of the way Congress used the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act to destroy food during the Great Depression to stabilize commodity prices. That plan backfired and, six years later, millions were still suffering without food because of Congress' action.

The poor are hurt three times over with the Cash for Clunkers program:

1. The cars that are being destroyed are the cars that the poor would be able to afford in a couple of years.

2. Destroying mildly used cars will drive up prices, thereby pricing many underprivileged persons out of the market.

3. The $4,500 incentive will encourage many people to overextend their financial means to buy cars they cannot afford. When they cannot pay the loan payments, these people will have their cars repossessed, creating more financial instability for that segment of the population.

Besides directly affecting the poor, we must also recognize that Cash for Clunkers hurts non-profit organizations, as well, including such organizations as Courage Center, that accept used car donations as a way of generating income.

Terry Pearson, Inver Grove Heights

My Near Death Experience on the 4th of July 2009

The 4th of July, 2009

Fireworks, excitement, freedom, celebrations, good times and great fun, this is what the 4^th is all about.

We usually celebrate at our cabin every year, at Coon Lake Beach up in Ham Lake, MN. Typically, there is this Boat Parade that takes place at 2:00 p.m. Everyone on the lake is welcome to join in the parade. There used to be this simple and basic line up of boats that would trot around the lake, and say hi to all the lovely folks on the water.

Over the last few years however, the boat parade has taken a new turn, and it’s now turned into a full blown out water balloon/water fight with everyone on the water. Take a look at the video, this should help explain it.

In preparation for this whole adventure, my cousin, Greg, who’s obsessed with water balloons, got a bunch of us together and made up 1,000 water balloons on Thursday. Surprisingly, this took us only about 2 hours to do with 5 of us working on it. We then ended up with about 10 totes full of balloons. (A little much eah?) We had to figure out how we’re going to get all of these balloons from Chanhassen, MN all the way up to Ham Lake. We all pinched in, and took a few totes with us. In the delivery process we broke a few balloons, but it’s not like would couldn’t spare any. My goodness!!

Saturday finally came and it was the BIG day. It’s 2:00 p.m., we get everyone gathered on our pontoon boat, all the balloons, squirt guns and all the rest of our ammo. Now, keep in mind that there were 10 people on this boat, so we were at Max. Capacity, and probably over the weight limit. (Ugh oh, hopefully we won’t get stopped by the water patrol) As we gather up in the line with everyone else, we anxiously await the time when we can start the water fighting.

The time get’s near, and we begin. The balloons are going back and forth; the water guns are squirting like crazy, and we’re all just having a blast. Were standing up throwing things, people are screaming, were getting boats wet, people are getting soaked, it’s just a riot and were going through the balloons like they are nothing. The balloons maybe lasted us 2 hours and luckily, we had some other means of ammo. Otherwise, we would have gone through the 1,000 in no time.

As the boats start to thin out and the time ends near, were completely out of ammo, and it’s time to head back home. As were traveling back near the cabin, it appears that the front of the boat is a little heavy. We didn’t pay too much attention to it, which in the end results for a bad outcome.

Were driving along and all of a sudden my uncle who’s driving the boat hits a big wave. With the front being weighed down, the water from the wave decided to roll over the front of the boat, causing it to start to sink.

Here I am, I am in the front of the boat, watching this water come over the front, and my first reaction is the boats is going to start to sink. The front’s going down just like the freaking Titanic. So, my first reaction is to jump off the boat and bail!! So, with my initial reaction, like an idiot, I jump off the boat. The motor’s still running, I have no life jacket on, and I just hope I don’t drown. Luckily, I came up from the water rather fast, was able to grab onto the front of the boat so I don’t go under the boat, and get into an even worse situation. However, someone up above must have been watching out for me, because luckily, there were people in the boat saying she’s overboard, stop the boat, reverse, reverse!!

Once the boat stopped, and we got things settled down, I was able to get back into the boat, and then I realized the boat isn’t going to sink, and I am the only dumb one who jumped off. But, not knowing what was going to happen, and having my first instincts kick in and at the time who knew what the best thing to do was. I just did what I thought was the best thing at that moment and went for it. I am sure there were better alternatives, but what would you have done??

When we finally make it back to shore safely, I look at the damage I just did to my body, I ended up hitting my leg on the top of the ledge, and banged my thigh, leg and foot on the front of the pontoon. I now have HUGE battle wounds upon my left leg. (Oh well!!) I put some ice on my leg/foot, and man oh man; I sure did a number on myself this year. Luckily, I managed to survive this near death experience, and I can’t wait to do it all again next year.

After Note to self: Don’t bail on the ship, unless it’s completely going to go under.

Weekend Adventures - To Do List.

The weekends come so rarely and few and far between that when they arise to their occasion, they seem to fill up with events before we know it. Having said that, this weekend is already packed with events, and I have a ton of things to do before they are started. So, I am making myself a TO DO list, before the weekend starts.

Things to do on Friday:

1. Finish the laundry
2. Go grocery shopping
3. Pack for the cabin
4. Wash the car
5. Water the plants
6. Pull the weeds from the garden
7. Cut the grass
8. Pay the bills
9. Pickup inside of the house
10. Confirm with E&T if they are coming to the cabin

Saturday

1. Finish packing and go to the cabin
2. Do a few chores at the lake
3. Sit out in the sun
4. Relax and enjoy my weekend with Family & Friends

A reason to celebrate

The weekend arrived, and the festivities began. Starting on Saturday, a friend of ours got married. This person has been through hell and back, and is finally able to enjoy their “new life” with this person, and experience what a truly blessed marriage is all about.

Prior, this person was married, and had 2 adorable children. Then one day, the other half decided to have an affair with another person which resulted in them having a child. They since then have divorced, but he’s been having troubles with custody issues with their 2 children, along with a million other things. I try to stay out of that discussion as much as possible. But, recently, I have found out that the mother of these children has been not so cooperative with her taking on the responsibility for them. She’s lacked in being a parent for years, and it just keeps showing as the years passes. It’s like my God, own up to the responsibilities that you have with your children, and be a parent for goodness sake. UGGH!

Anyways, as the world stands today, the Dad has taken their mom to court, and now has custody of the children. He’s one of the best dad’s, and deserves to have those children in his life, and vice versa.

This marriage that had taken place on Saturday truly is a blessing to this guy. He’s found a one in a million for his bride, as she’s an exceptional person. She’s gone above and beyond her call as a “Step-Mom” for these girls, and is truly a terrific person. She’s made this guy’s life change only for the better and in the direction of positive. She will take all the negativity in this family, and squash it like a bug. Seeing them both on Saturday was heartwarming knowing that they have overcome some obstacles, and continue to stroll down life with love, laughter, and joy.

May God bless you and your family and may you preserve in your new lives as one big happy family…

Home Improvements

Home Improvements…..Furnace and AC Replace and Installation.

It’s that time. There was no hope for the air conditioner this summer. The thing has had multiple opportunities to have the coolant re-filled and when it started working in the summer, the air that was coming out of it was not cold. It was Luke warm at best. After turning it on one day with the house being 82 degrees inside, and running for 4 hours, and not getting cold nor dropping any degrees in the house, I finally decided that it was time to replace it.

I thought to myself, who’s going to install a new one, and how much is this going to cost me? Luckly, my mom’s got a friend whose in-law works and installs furnaces/ac units. He’s actually put one in for my mom, and is very trustworthy, and reliable. So, with those words to back up his work, I felt comfortable enough with giving him a shot.

He came over to the house to assess our situation. He looked at the AC and said, well, we could try another re-charge or we could just replace the whole thing. I said, after having this thing re-charged last year, let’s just replace it. So, he said, OK! He looked at the model to try and figure out how old this thing was. When looking at the serial number, we found out that the thing was made in 1984. So, being as old as it was, I knew that I was doing the right thing by having it replaced.

I also had him take a look at the furnace, because that thing was due to needing to have some work done on it last winter. He came down and looked at it, and found out it was made in 1974.. Okay, I was like tare that thing out to and replace it.. It’s over 30 Years old, no wonder it’s having problems.

After the long process of deciding on what to do next, he showed me some brochures on what he would install, and what kind of things we would be getting. They seemed to be okay to me, and I said when can you install it? He said we could install the furnace the week of the 8th. I then asked how much it would cost for the whole thing.. He said the amount, and I said, your hired! So, for a little over 3 g’s, I couldn’t go wrong! It’s like $1,650 a piece.

Now, He came over and installed the furnace on Monday. Took him a total of over 9 hours to do, but now we have heat. However, I am not sure I am sold on it though. Maybe it’s because I am used to my old one. The new one barely pumps out “Hot” air. It’s luke warm maybe at best. But, the one thing I like is that it runs to get to the temp that you set your house to, and then it shuts off. When it drops below the temp you have set, it kicks on, and then it shuts off when it’s back up to the set temp.

I have yet to consult with the guy that installed this to see if that’s something that happens with the new “high efficiency” furnaces, or if there something wrong with the furnace already.. I am not sure, but why would my furnace pump out only Luke warm heat, and not hot air? I am confused?? Does anyone know why mine is like this?

We have yet to have the AC installed though. We were supposed to have that done today, and when he came out, he’s like ut oh, we have a problematic situation here. He said that he had the wrong part. When he told me this I was like WTF? Wouldn’t you check this out before you bring your materials out to my house to install this stupid thing?? Once I collected myself, I then replied, okay, so when do you think will have a new part, and when can we get that install? He said that he would take care of the problem right away, and he drove the piece over to the place and make sure they ordered the new one today. Shipping would take a few days, and he would hopefully have the AC in on Monday. I calmly and collectively said, okay, we can wait till Monday for the new shipment. However, if it gets hot outside, and I have no AC, I am not going to be a happy camper! He’s lucky the weather predictions are looking like cooler weather this week.
So, hopefully next week this whole process will be completed.

AHHHHHHHHHH the joys of home improvements!!!

Oh my how 3 years have gone bye.

Prepping for a party can be a lot of work. I spent the whole day before deciding to make my kido his b-day cake. He’s so into Thomas the Tank engine that I thought I would try to make him, his very own Thomas B-day Cake. After slaving away in the kitchen for literally 4 hours, by the time it was all said and done, I had one heck of a cake. Take a look at that!!! It looks to me as though I missed my calling in life.

For Austin’s b-day we took him up to the cabin in Forest Lake. The weather was great, and we had a fun time celebrating with family. We let him open some of his presents early, so that he could keep himself occupied for the day. His first gift was a parachute. Of course he has to play with it right away, and can’t wait. So, mommy and Daddy are his victims to do as he will, but we all enjoyed playing with his new toy.

He got lots of new toys, and fun things for presents. The one thing that he hasn’t gotten yet that finally came in, is a Wood Playset for the back yard.. (Setup of that is for a whole other post.)

As the afternoon past and evening got closer, Austin and the rest of us were getting hungry. We ate supper, celebrated with “Thomas decore“ great food, family and lots of conversation.

After dinner, I finally was able to bring out my masterpiece. The Cake. Now, Austin had not seen this cake yet, until now. I was so excited to see the expression on his face. I think I left him speechless, which was my intent.. Look at his face!

Daddy had to help him blow out the candles, because Austin’s still got some trouble with the whole blowing out of the mouth concept. (Notice he’s got 1 finger up in the air, because Brent’s got only 1 candle left to blow out!)

Austin loved his cake, and presents, and I must say I loved celebrating my son’s b-day with him. Happy 3^rd b-day sweetie! We love you!

Party Tips/ Good Foods to Try.

Party Tips.....

• Offer 3 to 4 types of hors d' oeuvres and figure each person will eat about 10 pieces in 2 hours (fewer if you are serving cheese).

• To keep the food flowing, prebake the hors d'oeuvres then reheat them when the guests arrive.

• Use the oven for the crispiest results. Even if the instructions offer the option of microwaving pastry hors d' oeuvres, don't do it.

• Skip the full bar and prepare 1 or 2 drinks-in bulk ahead of time. Before the party, pour them into glasses on trays and place pitchers next to them, so guests can refill themselves.

• Put out cold foods, like vegetables and dip or a platter of cheeses, at the start of the party so
people have something to nibble on if the hot hors d'oeuvres are not ready.

• Serve the hot hors d' oeuvres yourself. It will allow you to mingle with your guests. Ask helpers to focus on keeping the cold-food tray full and clearing plates.

• How about a wash tub iced to serve cold beverages? This works great for an outdoor, casual event like Father's Day.

• Place single flower stems of varying heights in individual bud vases, votive candle holders,
anything that can hold water. Group them in the center of tables to create a casual centerpiece.

• Create short, round bouquets of large-bloom flowers such as peonies and line them down the center of tables.

• When folding napkins for a party, tuck a fern frond or a flower sprig in each roll and secure with ribbon.


Now, some good recipes for y'all to try...

Cream - Filled Strawberries

These plump berries tilled with a creamy pudding mixture are so elegant-looking and luscious tasting that they are perfect for parties and springtime gatherings.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 18

18 large fresh strawberries
1 cup cold fat free milk
1 ( 1 ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix - Use the whole box.
2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping
1/4 tsp almond extract

Remove sterns from strawberries; cut a deep X in the top of each berry. Spread berries apart. In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping and almond extract. Pipe (which works better) or spoon cream into each berry. Chill until serve time. If the filling gets to soft, put it back into the fridge to get firmer.

Banana Smash Punch

4. cups granulated sugar
6 cups water
5 ripe bananas - Almost to a black color. If you want to have them ripen faster, throw them in the freezer fora few days.
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
Place the sugar and the water in heavy bottomed saucepan. Boil 5 minutes and let cool.
While cooling, process the bananas with the lemon juice in a blender. Add to the cooled water and
sugar mixture.
2 ounces fresh squeezed orange juice
36 ounces pineapple juice
Mix together and freeze solid.
Fill container 3/4 full. Pull from the freezer and serve when in slush stage. Mix with 2 quarts chilled ginger ale or clear soda.

Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs

A flavorful appetizer meatball, baked then kept warm in the slow cooker. If you need something quicker, combine your own favorite meatballs with the sauce ingredients, and then cook on high in the slow cooker for about 2 hours.

2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
1/3 cup ketchup
2 T soy sauce
l/4 tsp pepper
12 ounces chili sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup corn flake crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced onions
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 can (16 ounces) cranberry sauce
1 T brown sugar, firmly packed

In a large bowl combine ground beef, corn flake crumbs, parsley, eggs, ketchup, onion, soy sauce, garlic powder and pepper. Blend ingredients well and form into small balls, about %inch diameter. Place in a casserole or a baking pan. Heat oven to 300. While meatballs, combine cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook, stirring over medium heat until mixture is blended. Pour hot sauce over meatballs and continue cooking for
a total cooking time of about 45 minutes. Transfer to Crockpot and keep low for serving.
About 4-5 dozen meatballs, depending on the size.

Eye Drs. & a 2 ½ year old don’t mix!

Morning came and we arise to a major event today. Today was Austin’s checkup at the eye doctor. We spend the morning getting ready, eating our breakfast together at the table and we even managed to squeak in a few sessions of Winnie the Pooh on the computer before it was time to leave.

Austin cooperated very well with me through this whole process, and when it was time to get ready to leave, he obeyed me without any hesitation. In the car we go, and were off and running by 7:00 a.m. Through the traffic we go, waiting on the road due to slow pokes and mommy missing the exit and having to back track, we finally arrived at the clinic at 7:40 a.m. just in time for our appointment.

We get out of the car and I have Austin’s complete cooperation. We go and check in. The lady behind the counter says do you have a co-payment? I said, yes, and handed her my Bennie Card, and off comes $22.00 of the debit card. I love the Bennie Card! Basically it’s $250.00 of “Free” money to help cover medical expenses. Who wouldn’t love that!!

Up the elevator we go, and we sit down in the waiting area. As we wait for the doctor, I think to myself, okay, this is starting off rather well. Austin’s being a good boy so far, but can he hold out for the visit? We wait for about 10min for the nurse to call our name. All of a sudden, I hear “Austin Carr” I wheel the stroller in, past the doors and of course, Austin’s now throwing his normal fit. “AH CRAP, this is going to be a bad visit”.

At this point I am completely embarrassed because he’s throwing this fit. The nurse asked me to sit in the chair and hold him, so she could take a look at his eyes. Yeah right, this is going to work out well. He’s now screaming and unwilling to participate. The nurse doesn’t get any cooperation from Austin, so she can’t get a good checkup on him to see how he’s progressing so we basically get nothing accomplished with her.

The Doc comes in, and she tries to do a procedure on him. She tries to put this prism looking thing in front of his eye. All it does is help magnify the eye, to see if one is dominating his vision over the other. Lone and behold it’s the same old process!! Screaming and unwilling to participate. UGGH CHILD!

After coming to the conclusion that since Austin’s wearing his glasses, were basically doing all we can for him at this point. Until we can get him to cooperate with us more at the clinic, were not going to be able to get much more out of him at this point. The Doc suggested for us to come back in 3 months for a re-check and see if we can have better success next time.

As were leaving the clinic, I made a statement to Austin saying that here we are, we paid this $22.00 for him to see the Dr, and he’s not cooperating. The Dr. heard my comment, and she said, you could stretch it out to 4 months if you want, but nothing too much longer than that.

I think to myself, I just spent $22 on this visit, over 1hr 45 min driving to the eye Dr. for Austin today and now I am completely frustrated because we got no results from this visit and now, we have an appointment to go back again in 4 months just to do it all over again, and for what? The same results? Absolutely nothing?? UGGH you have got to be kidding me!

I head back to work after this visit. I am completely frustrated, discouraged, and upset, but I think I have now figured out a solution to our next visit. Solution for next visit: Bring along another family member, hold Austin down with force, and basically tell the Dr. they need to get a read on his eyes, or coming back to these visits is basically point less. Until Austin can cooperate fully and to the extent that’s needed for them to get the information they need this is just a big waste of my time and money.

Weekend To Do List:

The things in bold are the things I actually got done this weekend.

1. Get the hubby fitted for a tux for his friends wedding in June.
2. Rake the front yard.
3. Mow the yard.
4. Clean the inside of the house, which includes:
5. Bathrooms, Basement, Bedrooms, Living room, Kitchen
6. Pull the weeds from the tree rings outside, and replace the wood chips with rock.
7. Pay the rest of the bills
8. Look at finding AP an outfit for the June Wedding
9. Get Mike/Elizabeth a wedding gift.
10. Clean the inside and outside of the cars.
11. Go grocery Shopping.
12. Finish the laundry
13. Spend time with my family, and relax when this list is done!

My trip to Austin Texas

My first day consisted of us leaving MSP at about 4:55 and arriving to Austin TX at about 8:30 p.m. We had a slight lay over, but nothing to terrible. When we arrived, the weather was warm in Texas, and I couldn’t wait to start the vacation process. Then, we had to go and get our rental car from ALAMO. The selection of cars was few and far between, as it was late in the day, and only a few were available. We ended up with Nissan Rouge.

Now that we got part done, we just had to find our way to the hotel. I must say the lady at the rental car place gave superb detailed directions. We were able to find the hotel with no problems. I must say that the roads in Texas are quite interesting. They don’t believe in the whole on and off ramps like we have here in MN. They have what I called an express lane. They are located on the right or left hand side of the freeways. You can enter onto the freeway from the express lane just fine, but getting off the free way can be a challenge if you don’t have an exit ramp to get off onto.

We arrive at the hotel late in the evening, and just decide to crash. After a long days work, I was beat, and needed my rest.

The adventures consisted of the following:

Thursday:

• LBJ Museum. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library holds more than 45 million pages of manuscripts, an extensive audiovisual collection, and oral history. There were so many amazing things in the museum; we were there for several hours.

• Texas State Capitol: The Texas Capitol is an extraordinary example of late 19th century public architecture and is widely recognized as one of the nation's most distinguished state capitols. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 for its "significant contribution to American history." This was an amazing site to see, if ever you’re in Texas, make an effort to go see it.
  
  
• Downtown Austin: We spent the rest of the afternoon traveling down town Austin to see all of the different amazing things there are to see.
  
  
• Dinner with family at the Oasis on Lake Travis: Let me just first start out by saying this place has an amazing view! The OASIS also provides a spectacular view of Lake Travis and the surrounding hill country. It is a must-see for out-of-towners and a reprieve for locals -- the perfect place for groups of up to 500 for parties, weddings, corporate events and any other special occasion you want to celebrate. In 2005 there was lightning that struck The Oasis and the resulting fire claimed 80% of the decks. They then had to re-build their outdoor seating and now there is three stories, more deck space, an innovative convertible indoor/outdoor live music venue. With seating capacity for over 2,000 people, and more indoor space than ever, and is now a top-destination restaurant. Their food is absolutely delish! We had chips and salsa for an appetizer. I tried their Fish Taco’s which were a bit on the spicy side, but good. My Hubby had their Chicken Wrap which was absolutely fabulous, and then we added a few cocktails, good conversation, and family on to the side, on top of a $300.00+ tab for all, we had a perfect meal.

Friday:

• San Antonio: The travel to San Antonio was quite interesting. Paul decided to drive, and I must warn you that he’s an easily frustrated person when driving. He ended up missing the turn onto the off ramp for San Antonio, and then got completely in an uproar about it. Instead of calming down and taken a breath, and getting us on the straight & narrow he got in a tizzy. I was just sitting in the back seat, pretending to sleep, as I didn’t want to be in any part of that discussion. Uggh the fun of traveling in a new town.

• River days: River days took place on Friday, so there was a huge parade going on, which made parking a huge challenge. We ended up having to pay out $20.00 just to get a place to park, but after driving around for over an hour we though, bite the bullet and just pay it, this is insane.

• The Alamo: After all the Alamo is what most people think of when they think of Texas. Originally it was built as a Spanish mission; the Alamo was the site of one of the most infamous battles in North American history. I found it to be interesting, and was glad I had the opportunity to view the site.

• The River Walk: This reminded me of a long strip mall with lots of shops, hotels and eatery places. Down the middle of the road was the river which was a nice touch to add some scenic attractions to the river walk. It was interesting to see all the different things that were located along the river, and what was available to people.

• 6^th Street: The Hubby and I decided that we would take a stroll down to see 6^th street. OMG talk about difficult parking? We had ended up finding a spot to park in a ramp and paid $8.00 to park. Okay, now talk about a challenge. We had the most difficult time trying to get out of the ramp. We went up and down each end of the ramp, and came up empty. We eventually did end up finding our way out, but OMG difficulties! We strolled along the streets, checking out the souvenir shops, and then of course the hubby wanted to go and check out Coyote Ugly. I was up for it, as he bought me a free beer, so I couldn’t really turn it down. Talk about loud! Now I know why I don’t go to clubs anymore.

Saturday:

• The wedding: What more can I say? This day was fabulous. The wedding service took place at the University Christian Church. The service turned out to be lovely, and there were a large amount of folks who were able to celebrate with Tiffany & Tanner. The reception took place at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Austin, and was outstanding. All around good food, conversations, drinking and dancing. The party was a great joy to be at, and I was so blessed to be a part of the day.

Sunday:

• Brunch with the family. Brunch was provided by my uncle & law, and his wife. The whole family was invited to partake and it was a fun way to end the celebration weekend.

• Schlitterban Water Park. My husband insisted that we go and check out Schlitterban Water Park in New Braunfels Falls, TX as it was opening weekend. When we got to the park, the weather was a bit on the chilly side, but we decided that we would go and partake in the water park. Here I thought that the park would be just swamped with folks, but there really weren’t all that many people there. I must say I was fairly pleased with the park. They had a few good water slides, but damn the water was freezing. Talk about a chill up the spine!

• Dinner with family: We went to a small join in Downtown Austin for supper. The food was good, and OMG, we had this amazing dip thing for chips and dip. It was to die for! I have to find out what was in that dip.

Monday:

• Bob Bullock History Museum: We spent most of the day at the Museum. Myself, Brent, Phil, and Paul went to the museum. The Museum is a dynamic educational institution that engages visitors in the exciting Story of Texas through a variety of programs and exhibit experiences in Austin. The museum has a total of 4 levels of history to go through, and it can literally take you all day to get through if you look at each thing in the museum. It truly is something amazing everyone should go and see.

• Lunch/Dinner w/Family: For lunch and dinner, we were able to spend some good quality time with the family. We went to a restaurant in downtown for lunch, which is the same thing we went to on Sunday night, but that’s okay, because they had good food. For supper, we ended up at the Texas Road House. It’s got good food, and yet we have one in Minnesota. Go figure.

Tuesday:

• Last day in Texas. We spent out last day going shopping, seeing the things we wanted to see one more time, and just took it easy. We ended up back at the Capital, 6^th street, and then went and saw the Driskill hotel. We then headed off to the airport for are arrival back to MN. There were a few layovers at the airport but all in all it was a good flight, and we were glad to be back home.

I must say this was a way over due vacation, and I am glad that I had a chance to experience it with my loved ones. This was my first trip in the last year, and consisted of me and my husband without our 2 ½ year old and me taking off 8 days of work. It was well worth the wait, and I couldn’t have enjoyed myself more than I did. It had plenty of entertainment, exciting, peace and quiet, celebrating and plain overall fun.

Thinking of Having Kids?

Do this 11-step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the newspaper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breast feeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior. Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) Playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful
and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. Howdoes that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side..
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street, Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly.(Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you need as a parent!

Dreams

Dream on by Muhomman Ullah

Dreams by muhommad ullah
Dream on, dream on

Dream yourself a dream come true

Dream on, dream on

Dream until your dream come true

Dream on, dream on, dream on...
Dreams? Can we convert them into realities?
Whenever I go to bed, I have dreams in my eyes, plans in my mind and wishes in my heart. Don’t know will I be able to achieve what I am thinking; a continuous struggle is ahead of me. Sometimes I think, my dreams are washed away by my tears, my plans are blocked and my wishes are killed due to broken heart but…. I still dream on

A nice day outside constitutes to hours of chores!

Finally it’s nice outside during the week. I am home from work early, and I have a million of chores to start on, but since it’s such a gorgeous day outside, I figured I would start out there.

I get on my grungy clothes, and put up my hair, and off I go. I gather the rake, my trash bucket, some trash bags and I hit the ground running. Within the first ten minutes, I lone and behold get a blister on my thumb. It never seems to fail. I always get one of those dam things. As much as I wanted to stop and get a band aid, I just decided that I would keep going.

I raked all along the inside of the fence line in the back yard, pulled out some weeds in the garden, trimmed some bushes, and pulled out all the junk that was in the rocks along the house.

Finally, when that was done, I had to go back and pick up all the leaves I left all over the place. So, instead of me bending over, I came up with a bright Idea. Instead of bending at the knees for all this crap, I decided that I would take a shovel, and use it as a scooper, and took my rake to help keep it in one area. Simply then, I just dumped it right into the trash bucket. Who would have guessed that this technique would work like a charm? It saved me a lot of bending over, and my back thanked me the next day!

Struggling to get all this cleaned up before the hubby came home; I still had a mound of other chores to do in the house to. But I thought to myself, let me just get through this stuff first, and then if there’s still time, I will get to the rest.

Finally at 3:00 I decided to call it quits, and finished what I was working on, and went in the house and cleaned up. After my shower, it was decided that after I plopped into my chair, I was not going to get up and do more work. One major chore is good enough for me for the day.

In everyday, there comes a time when you have to say enough is enough, because you can’t get to everything you hope to do, there just isn’t enough time.

Lying, is it really worth it?

11 years of being together and just like a snap of the fingers, the commitment, honesty and trust were thrown out the window this past weekend. When I confronted my hubby with a true genuine question, it was then followed up by a response that’s a complete and utter lie.

I simply asked the hubby if he had to work on Saturday, or if he was going to be around so we could have a family day together. His response was that he was going to have to “work”. I said, “From what time”, he said, “from 10a.m. – 2:00 p.m”. It seemed strange to me that he was starting later in the day and not at his usual 6:00 a.m. time. He then followed up to say that the guys at the office didn’t want to get up early, so they are starting later. That right there should have sent up my red flag, but it didn’t. I though, ok, whatever, it’s work, it’s a strange schedule on the weekends, and so I bought it.

I now have to figure out what Austin and I are going to do with this time that we have together without Brent, and try to find something to do. We decide that were going to go to the park, and play outside, since it was such a nice day out. I abruptly get this phone call around 10ish, asking for Brent. I said, he’s at work. The gentleman on the other line said, at work? I said yes. I thought to myself, something’s fishy here. I wonder if Brent’s really working today, or if he’s off doing something else instead.

Sure enough, 2p.m. rolls around, and no hubby, he doesn’t get home till 3. He’s then redder then a cherry tomato and I said to him, you weren’t at work today, were you? He said, no, I went golfing instead. I was like, so you flat out lied to me about today. He’s like yes, I did, because he’s said if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t let me go golfing. I said, wouldn’t let you? If you would have been upfront and honest with me in the beginning, I would have maybe said I wasn’t happy about it, but I wouldn’t have said you couldn’t go.

So, instead of him spending time with his wife and child on Saturday, he totally neglected us, and decided to be utterly selfish and only think of himself and nothing more. He said to me he was sorry about what he did, but sorry to me just didn’t cut it. He went too far with this, and I don’t take being lied to well especially when it’s from my own husband.

My question now is, how can I regain his trust, how and when will I know when he’s telling me the truth, or will he never tell the truth again? Will our lives be based upon lies, or can we get past this and can I re-trust my husband again? I think it’s going to take time for this wound to heal, and time for me to heal as a person and for Brent to learn to start being honest and loyal to me again before our lives can change.

So, I have learned that telling a lie is not a good thing, you should always be honest, as the lie is always going to come and bite you in the ass in the end.

Easter Celebration

Our typical Easter gathering involves usually about 20+ people from my family gathering at someone house for a nice warm meal. However, this year was different. There were only a few that showed up for the festivities but yet smaller seemed to be better. The meal time was rather enjoyable, because my little guy decided that he was going to take a nice nap for his mom. He was sleeping the whole time we ate dinner, so it was nice to not have to worry about him, and I could just enjoy myself.

The meal time consisted of way to much food; there was enough to feed an army and then some. It’s like we can’t say let’s just have a few things, no, they have to splurge and basically purchase a whole grocery store for one gathering. There were so many options, you couldn’t just pick a few things and be satisfied, and you had to come back for seconds, because you missed half the good stuff the first time around.

Of course after the meal, there are always desserts. We had a delicious yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and Cream da mint whip topping, and yes it was to die for. My mom also went hog wild with all the chocolate candy because now she could finally have it again. Who in their right mind would deprive themselves of chocolate for lent? I wouldn’t. It’s a necessity to life.

Now meal time was over, and I was stuffed. I felt like I had just inhaled over 2,000 calories. I could barely move, let alone thinking of getting up out of my chair. So, instead, I decided to plop down on a comfy chair, put my feet up and enjoy some conversation with the family. Lone and behold just as I get myself comfy, my little guy wakes up. I think to myself, perfect timing. It’s alright though, I got to enjoy my own time with my family, and now I was able to enjoy it with my son. The discussions we had with one another were rather entertaining for the day, along with just being able to enjoy everyone’s company since we don’t get to see each other that often.

On the way home, my husband and I were reflecting back on the day. We were talking about those who weren’t there this year, but yet were there in spirit. We missed them dearly, but we knew that they would always be with us. We talked about this and that, and how we were so happy that we were able to celebrate with those whom are still with us, and gave thanks and cherished the moments with our loved ones.

Easter Egg Coloring

This year, I decided that I would put my guard down, and not worry about messes, spills, or stains, but yet for my 2 ½ year old to experience the fun and pleasure in Easter Egg coloring.

Here we are, prepping our die, and waiting it for fizz to die down, so we can start coloring our 3 dozen egg. Yes, my ma went a little crazy on the eggs, so that way we had more than enough to practice with. We then just had to get Austin to understand and learn the process so he could enjoy a new activity.

First I thought this could get messy, but yet we kept it under control, and did pretty good not making to big of a mess. The only mess we had is that I spilled the cup of pink liquid right at the beginning, so we had to re-make the pink coloring. Oh well, as they say, shit happens. And here I thought Austin was the one going to make the mess, instead, it was me!

As were starting out this whole process, Austin thought he was going to be cute, and put the egg into the cup all by himself. Ah, I don’t think so, kido, mommy has to assist you so you don’t miss the cup, and have the egg go all over the floor. So, we combined our working efforts, and did it as a team, and egg #1 was a successful dunk.

Patiently we waited for the eggs to be colored, and then I let Austin decide when the eggs were good and ready to come out. He’s now attempting to dig it out all by himself, and look at him go, can he do it? He couldn’t quite get the blue one out, so I had to provide a little assistance with the process.

We worked together as a team, and we got the egg out of the water, and take a look at our finished product. The two of us made a great team, I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in crime to do it with.

Way to go AP! Our first successful Easter Egg coloring adventure!

A workout plan that’s actually working

With Intense pain comes sweat, with sweat comes tears, with tears comes burning calories, and with physical endurance comes a lot of huffing and puffing. Pushing through all of these combination's of things in the end results a great workout.

For the past week now, I have been forcing myself to get in at least one workout a day. With that, I am trying to work out for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour per session and going about 1-2 miles per workout. I have come to find myself actually sticking to this workout routine, and liking it. I am able to take this time to seize the day, reflect on what I have accomplished and what’s left to take on when I am finished with my workout.

When I am on that treadmill, I must say that I have to focus on something to help keep my breathing going strong, and keep me motivated so I can get through another round on the treadmill. I have to start out slow, but when I get myself up to speed, then watch out world because here I come.

I found exercising to be an important part of my day, let alone a important part of life. It’s help me to get fit, and try to stay in shape. I found that I have lost weight, and probably inches from my body. I haven’t measured to be sure, but the clothes are getting looser, so that’s always a good sign.

When I am down, and I feel like I don’t want to get on that stupid running machine, I am forced to look in the mirror and say, oh honey; you have got a long way to go. I also look in the closet, and I am started directly in the face with the dress I have to fit in for the wedding in April, and think ahh crap, I have to get on that treadmill on start working out. I have only 2 weeks left.

So, I keep on a trucking and get as far as I can with the time I am allotted, and only hope that the best results are yet to come.

Our "Family" Cabin

The Cabin, or what I call it "The Lake" has been in my family for over 70+ Years! Now let’s just say that’s history in the making!! The cabin is located in Forest Lake, on Coon Lake. It’s a quiet dainty little area, but during the busy time of the summer, the lake can get a wee bit crowded.

This has always been a happening hot spot for my family to gather on the weekends during the summer. I must admit, this is my favorite place and most relax able spot to go during the summer. It's got a lot of fun things to do. You can watch the boats, go swimming, and just be yourself. I have been going here for over 28 years, and I LOVE IT! It's a place to remember all of my family memories, and for me to create new ones with my family. I will always be great full to my Grandparents for this opportunity in my life to have a place to go to be with family.

We enjoy all the all of the fun that goes along with it. We love to go out on the boats, go fishing, water skiing, water tubing, and having a lovely feat of food for supper. We love spending time with family/extended family, and all of us enjoy catching up on "new news" that goes around, and we love to reminisce about the old days.

(Inside – the porch, and the kitchen where all the chatter happens)

(Outside - The Water where all the activities take place.)

After my Grandparents passed away, my Mom's family has decided to sell the cabin. It was heart wrenching, but understandable, as most of them can't physically take care of the place themselves, and with all the work that has to be put into it, it's a lot for one family to do. So, for now, we enjoy the time we have, create memories and love being there.

Due to the economic downturn this past year, my family decided to keep the cabin, and try to figure out a way for all of us to enjoy it together, and for each family to have their own time up there as well. This has been a consistent struggle for them to say the least. I hope my 2 Aunts will come to the rationale that it is important to all of us and that we want to be fair, but equal for all. I hope and pray to GOD that the 4 of them will come to some solution, which will work for everyone and everyone can live with.

Will see what's soon to be told come summer.. Keep your fingers crossed for the best.

How a 2 year old can make fun of his Uncle.

It's a quiet evening at home. My family and I are all gathered at the dinner table. We seem to get into series of strange topics at the table.

This one topic we were talking about the other evening was how when we eat spaghetti, that it can make some of us retain some gas. My Bother is one who can't seem to tolerate spaghetti, because the acidity, and it in turn makes him gassy but yet, he eats it anyways.

Austin is at the table with us, and it's not like a 2 year old can understand what our adult conversation was all about. But of all people he decided to be cute and make fun of his Uncle, not knowing what he was doing.

The noises you are about to hear are totally out of the blue for Austin. But, he was also starting to learn how blow with his mouth that week, so I think he was trying to do something of that sort.

So, as he started to make some farting noises, I in turn had to take this opportunity to make fun of my brother with it, and in turn, we got this cute video.

Take a look.

Bet me a beer and I can getter done!

At the office this week, we were having a dilemma with some technology. We were trying to take a word file, and make it a PDF. Well, while I already know how to do that, I was then offered another daunting task by a co-work.

Their or I should say her request was to see if I could get page numbers inserted on the PDF, along with seeing if I could remove the text that was already placed onto the PDF document. She said to me, I bet you a beer at Great Waters that you can’t figure out how to do that. I said, your on!

Since there’s now insensitive for me to do this tedious task, I though what the hell. What can it hurt to just take a look at it and see what I can do? I can’t hurt the document; I can only try to destruct it.

While I meander my way over to my PC, I pull up my Adobe Acrobat Professional, I begin to think what have I gotten myself into. I can’t do this; I know nothing about this program. As I tell myself, don’t think that way Christy, you can do it, you’re the SPP! Plus there’s a “Free” beer at the end of this, if this works.

I begin to click through every single tool bar I can, clicking on everything to see what it can do, I think this is impossible. After spending about 30mins click on a bunch of nonsense, I stumble across what I think could work for part one of this project, inserting page numbers on our lovely document.

Oh yeah, “Free beer here I come!”

It appears that I simply have to just add a Header & Footer to my document, click on insert page number, and put it into my footer section of my page. While I think, this is too good to be true, it usually is. I finish entering in my information, and pray for a miracle. I click on the OK button, and Wham! It worked! I got the pages to have page numbers now. WHOO HOO! Go me!

Now, I figured I am now on a roll, and almost closer to that “free” beer, I decide to do the part 2 of this request.

Trying to erase info... Hummm.. Again, I start clicking through the laundry list of items, and come up with zip. God help me, where is this info that I have to click on to make it work. I continue to keep clicking and clicking....

I stumble across what is the Tools Tab. I read the options endlessly. I click on advanced editing, (who know it would be under here) Of course, it would have to be “advanced” for geekie people.. Dughh. I then click on Touchup Object tool. It highlighted the info, and I think to myself SWEET! We’re getting closer to that Beer. I then hit the almighty “Delete” key, and pray it works. Ready, set, Wham! It deleted all the info. Now if I can’t work magic, I don’t know who can.

Of course now, I have to go and tell my co-worker the good news. Shucks, she’s not in yet. She finally arrived, but shucks, she’s in training. My mind wonders how I am going to spread this wealth of knowledge quickly. I know, I will send her an e-mail. As I write my e-mail with glowing pride that I accomplished something, I can really only seem to brag to her that all I thought about the whole time was that beer that she was going to owe me.

See, a little beer, and little incentive can go a long way to doing something tedious.

Beer, here I come!

25 Questions about me.

Had a little 'free time' and so I'm swiping this list of 25 questions.

1. What are your five favorite kinds of candy?
Hershey's plain chocolate bars, Reeses, 100 Grand, Twix, Snickers.

2. Do you think that gift cards are suitable gifts to give? Do you find them to be impersonal?
They are for somethings. Yes, I find them inpersonable, beceuase you can always find a gift for someone. It may not be exactly what they want, and it maybe a challenge to find something they like, but you can always give something other then giftcards.

3. What is your blog about? How long have you been blogging? Why did you begin blogging? Is it the the same reason that you continue to blog today?
It's about whatever is on my mind, whatever's bothering me, or it's usually full of my rants and complaining. I began blogging a few months ago, and I love it. My friend at work got me into blogging. I was interested in it, and wondered what it was all about. I also heard it was becoming quite 'the thing' to do back then.

4. What is your favorite Hostess treat?
I USED to like Hostess chocolate cup cakes with the cream filling inside. But now, I am trying to totally avoid any and all sweets, and for the most part, I am doing an okay job.

5. How much money is in your wallet right now?
About $50 - probably the most I've had in there in a LONG time.

6. How connected are you? Can you be reached by cellphone, internet, email, etc…. at all hours of the day? Do you ever (would you ever?) shut it all off, and how long could you go without technology?
At times, I am connected all day at work and other times, I am not near it all day. I have a cell phone, but I try to use it only for emergency's, or if I am calling long distance. I use the internet alot, as it's a part of my job, and I like to surf the web for things that are of interest for me, or if there is something medical I am looking up. I have e-mail, and I use it more then I like. I check my e-mail once a day if I can. I would like to try and "shut it off" for a month. I think back to myself, what did we do before all of this technology stuff? We all survived didn't we?? I think I could do it, it would be tough, but I could manage.

7. If your bologna had a first name, what would it be?
SPP!! I am the solvings problem princess, as I totally discoved a new thing today at work..

8. What celebrity are you tired of hearing about lately?
Brad & Angelina. Or the Octo Mom.

9. Which are your favorite blog plug-ins and widgets?
I dunno, too many.

10. When I turn my head left:
The escape to freedom at work.. The EXIT!

11. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you the truth about any one thing you wished to know about yourself, life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?
If how and when my life would get any easier to deal with.

12. How do you know when you're in love?
When your ready, you will know. If your not, your heart will tell you so. Don't do anything your not comfortable with.

13. Do you order Girl Scout Cookies? What kind are your favorites?
Oh yeah.. I was a girl scout, so I have to live upto my past of being the cookie girl. I usual order Tagalogs, Samoas & Thin Mints. Samoas are my Fave!

14. If you could teach one person a lesson in humility, who would you choose?
My friend, or my Husband.

15. What’s your favorite romantic song?
Faithfully by Journey.

16. What is in your nightstand?
My phone, and photo of my son.

17. If you had to pick a game to play from the following, which one would you pick: Chess, Backgammon, Scrabble, or Battleship?
Battleship or Backgammon. I like both of them.

18. If you could pair up any two single people you know, who would you pick?
My Brother, and a really great girl (yet to be found)

19. What websites are you willing to admit to visiting daily?
Bloglines, Facebook, AOL, and several of them that I use for work.

20. Someone says February and you think:
My anniversay day of when I met my hubby. Valentine's Day, and lots of candy/chocolate.

21. What was the first conscious thought you had this morning?
Diet Dr. Pepper.

22. When you get online, what do you do first?
check email.

23. What was the first conscious thought you had this morning?
oh crap! it's Monday. back to work/school.

24. When you get online, what do you do first?
check email.

25. What's the best thing in your life right now?
My Son, family, and my Hubby.

How do you Sleep

I found this on my great blogging friends blog. Must give credit where credit is due. :) Sleep is a big issue in my life right now, so I could not pass up doing this survey.

1. How long do you sleep each night?
Currently, I average about 7 hours. It is sometimes interrupted due to my super cute 2 1/2 month old who sometimes wakes up for no particular reason. I still cannot figure why he wakes up at times. So, he eventually ends up in my bed with me, because I am to tired to rock him back to dreamland..

2. Do you fall asleep easily?
I usually do, but that's probably because I'm tired. I have trouble sleeping though if there's something small that's distracting me from drifting off.

3. Do you fall asleep at times not in your bed?
Sometimes if I am really tired, I will pass out on the couch. But, I usually try to just sleep in my bed.

4. Do you listen to music or use “white noise” to sleep?
No, I can't stand it. It would distract me to much from sleeping, which at this point in my life, I love to sleep.

5. Do you sleep through the night or get up a couple of times?
I'm down and out for the count until the alarm gets me up.

6. Do you have trouble sleeping away from your own bed?
No, I can usually sleep anywhere else.

7. Do you need an alarm clock to get you up?
Unfortunately I do. I have to get up at 5a.m. on work days, but then durning the weekend, my little guy wakes me up usually around 7-7:30 a.m. ish.

8. Do you ever take medication to help you sleep?No, I don't believe in that. I have only taken cold drugs when I have been sick to help me sleep better.

9. Do you/have you slept with pets?
We don't have any pets, and I won't let my husband get any. So, that would be another NO to the second part of this question.

Baby gets a Boo Boo

The sun’s shining, the temperature is just right and the fresh air smell all are the signs of spring. Saturday rolls around, Austin and my Husband and I decided go outside and go to park. Now I will have you know, you can’t just go to the park for a few minutes with Austin, he likes to spend as much time there as you will allow.

At the park, Austin loves playing on the jungle gym, climbing up and down the stairs, and going down the slide repeatedly for about an hour. He finally decided that he wanted to take a break from the jungle gym and go on the swing. So, of course I say sure, and off to the swinging land he goes.

Austin likes big a big boy, and swing in the big swing, and not in the kiddy swing. So instead of him throwing a temper tantrum while we’re at the park, I give in and say ok, you can go on the big swing. After pushing him for a while, I ask him if he is done. He signs more, and of course I should have know that. He loves to swing; he could swing for hours if I let him.

After I give him a few more pushes on the swing. I look at him for a brief moment, and he beings to sign all done. But, before I could get to him to stop the swing, he decided that he was going to be a “big boy” and get off the swing himself. Not a good idea, this is just an accident waiting to happen.

Sure enough, I am not fast enough on the draw, and Austin slides off the swing, and goes face first down on the ground. He skinned up his face, got a few scratches on his nose, and a bloody mouth. I must say, he scared me to pieces, but he was a trooper, and he screamed for all about 10 seconds.

After the screaming was done, I took a better look at it, and decided that I should take him home and play Dr. Mom and fix him up. He got mad and threw more of a temper tantrum when I said we had to leave. He didn’t want to leave; he wanted to keep playing even though he was injured. Who know he was such a tough cookie. So, we get in the house and I clean him up, wash his face, and put a few dabs of some antibiotic ointment on his scrapes, and he’s good as new.

So, the lesson I learned is to not let you 2 year old get his way on the swing, and if he does, at least be on the other side of the swing, so I can stop it. Oh well, accidents happen, and I am sure this is just the first of many more to come.