2010 Review

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

Taught my son how to drive. Not only how to drive but how to drive a stick.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


Never make 'em, never will

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


Yep. Jeff and Jaime had Bo in April.

4. Did anyone close to you die?


Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit?

None.
 Just a few more years though and we will be traveling all over the place.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

I would like our medical bills from 2009 to be paid off and start saving money in the HSA instead of spending it all.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

July 23. Gage got his driver's permit. It made me feel excited, a little sad, a little old, and even more excited.

October 25. Layla turned 10. Something about reaching the double digits. Again with the excited, sad, old and excited feelings.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Working through issues that crippled me in 2009.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I really don't feel like I failed at anything.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not really. Lingering illness from '09 but I worked through it and from the Spring on it was a good year health wise.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

The best thing we paid for was the money we spent to refinish our hardwood floors. Hands down!

12. Where did most of your money go?


 Medical bills! Never ending.

13. What did you get really excited about?

Just the general stuff about the kids. They're at pretty exciting ages so that just being part of their life is exciting.

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?

There isn't really one that stands out this year.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? Happier.
– thinner or fatter? Probably fatter at the moment.
– richer or poorer? Financially poorer, most definitely.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?


Volunteering.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?


Sitting around doing nothing.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Christmas Eve was here with just the four of us. Christmas day was at the in-laws in the afternoon and with my brother and sister and their families that night.

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Survivor.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?



 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It was great but I only remember it because I just read it. I'm sure I read at least 75 books this year, probably more, so I'd have to do some research to answer this question. That can be it's own post.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?


Love those Glee kids and anything they cover. Of course the Christmas music is fresh in my head since it's been playing in this house since Nov 1.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

Harry Potter, Salt.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

The neighbors made yummy food and we all hung out. I was 35.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

If I had won the lottery. Or been on Wheel of Fortune.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Well, I really upped the ante from '09. I didn't leave the house unless I brushed my hair so....yeah, I'd say I'm making progress. Look out '11, I might actually style my hair too!!

26. What kept you sane?



 My husband. My husband making sure I take my Zoloft :)

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.


Sometimes you have to deal with things you might rather keep buried but when you face them it can change your life for the better.

Sexy Sweater?

So the Wednesday before Christmas was sexy sweater day (10th graders are so sexy) at school. Sexy sweater really means go to Ragstock and find the most hideous sweater you can find. Mission accomplished.



P.S. That's a women's sweater Gage is wearing. There are more birdhouses on the back. Super Sexy!

Christmas Spirit

So I'm not sure what everyone's problem is this year. People are complaining that they aren't in the mood for Christmas and have no Christmas spirit.

Annoying.

We are so full of the Christmas spirit in this house it's ridiculous!! Shopping, baking, wrapping presents (literally and figuratively....if you know me you know what that means). I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

So get with it people! It's freaking Christmas time. And if you can't get with it quit telling me about it.

HO HO HO!!!

Blizzard = Sugar Overload

So this weekend was the big storm that had everyone locked up inside their homes. Most people complained and bitched about it as usual. The people that didn't complain about it live on this street. There was no complaining. There was constant shoveling/snow blowing, football in the middle of the street, and tipping the pizza guy $20 for braving the blizzard so we didn't have to get off of our asses to get it ourselves.

There was also a lot of baking. Sugar cookies galore and chocolate covered pretzels covering every inch of counter space and the dining room table. When there is baking there is tasting and that means I consumed way too much sugar over the last few days. I'm pretty sure I am now diabetic.

I love me a good blizzard.

Almost Fully Vested?

So tomorrow is our 11th anniversary. I know a guy that says 15 years of marriage means you're fully vested. There's no backing out, no turning back. Because, really, what's the point? By then your spouse knows you inside and out. They've seen you at your best and worst. They've loved you more than they could explain and have probably disliked you more than you'd like to know. So, really, you're not going to find anyone else like that.

People say marriage takes a lot of work. I've said it before and I'll say it again but it is not work being married to my husband. I might sound like a self righteous ass but it's really no lie.

I love that man more every single day. He is an amazing husband, a wonderful father, and the best friend I've ever had.

We're fully vested.

Bring It

So the weather is doing it's thing. It's rainy/snowy, gloomy, and dark. Last year at this time this kind of weather sent my depression into a tailspin. It really sucked.

This year. I'm digging it. Our Christmas lights are up, inside and out. I'm ready to light my yummy scented candles all over the house. I'm ready to wrap presents and stick those bad boys under the tree. I'm ready to be with family that I haven't been with for years. I'm ready to celebrate Christmas and a brand new year. Before I get to that I'm ready to celebrate my anniversary with my super awesome amazing husband. I'm happy.

I'm lucky.

The Tumor...revisited

So this damn tumor is not shrinking. At all. In fact it has quite possibly doubled in size. Gross, gross, disgusting! And sad :(

Georgie Girl

So Georgie has this weird thing on her nose. It's ugly and warty looking except that warts are bumpy and this thing is smooth.

I took her to the vet and he looked at it for all of 2 seconds and declared it a tumor. Tumor can mean many different things, none of which paint a pretty picture in my head.

For now we have to rub steroid cream into it until it goes away. Then there's the chance that it won't go away and they will want to slice it off and biopsy it. I don't like this.



Look at her...she's too cute for a tumor.

Happy Birthday BFF

Happy Happy Birthday BFF. Love you!

The END Of The Process

So it's finished. Our stuff is back in and Georgie is back in the house. I love the way it turned out! I don't love the way you can now see all of the Georgie hair that is EVERY WHERE!

The Process Sunday 12pm-4pm

So the floors are done, the walls are freshly painted, and the furniture goes back in tonight. Here's the last photo of the empty room. Next up....we will put our crap back in and finally let the poor dog back in the house.

The Process Saturday 9pm-10pm

So this is after the second and final coat of polyurethane. The difference is unbelievable. Next up....a fresh coat of paint on all of the walls. Stay tuned.

The Process Saturday 3pm-4pm

So this is after the first coat of polyurethane. Shiny!

The Process Saturday 12am-4am

So this is after the stain and before the polyurethane. Yep...I like me some dark wood. This was done by Nick and only Nick because that sweet, sweet man of mine let me go to bed. P.S. He's napping now.

The Process Friday 4:45pm-11:45pm

So this is after all of the edges were done (by Nick), the floor was swept about 4000 times (by me), and it was cleaned with mineral oil (by both of us). This photo is the dining room while the oil was drying. You can see a little part of me in the pic....sprawled out on the floor from exhaustion. P.S. This isn't fun anymore.

The Process Friday 11:45am-3:45pm

So this is after Steps 3 and 4. Not sure if you can see a difference from Step 1 but I can definitely feel a difference. Smooth like a baby booty. Now I have to start edging. Much harder than using the drum sander. Not enjoying this part AT ALL. Stay tuned.

The Process Friday 9am-11:45am

So Step 1 is complete. Stay tuned for Step 2 pics.

The Process

So these are before pics.

Manipulative Much?

So I guess I'm pretty selfish. I think it's totally okay to be selfish. Maybe not all the time but, ya know, a little is okay. I will now tell you a story where I may come off as selfish. Probably a little manipulative. But in the end....everybody wins so it's all good. Right?

We have been in this house for 8 1/2 years. This is important to know.

Now I need to tell you a little about our old house.

One day at our old house Gage saw that I was laying in a chair and being that I was 8 months pregnant with a huge belly, I couldn't see what he was doing on the floor. I was exhausted....preggers. I wasn't paying attention....again, preggers. Gage came to me and asked if he could color on the floor. Of course I answered yes. Soon after, Nick got home from work and the first thing out of his mouth is "DO YOU SEE WHAT HE'S DOING???" I reply "Isn't he coloring?" To which he says "WHY DON'T YOU SIT UP AND SEE!"

Okay, so remember how I said I was pregnant and I had a huge belly? Well, it's very important in this story because HELLO! When the kid asked if he could color on the floor I certainly didn't think he meant on the actual floor. Like on the carpet. With a Sharpie. The very permanent kind. Oops. I was laying down. I couldn't see over my belly. A strong defense that holds up to this day.

Anyway, nobody told Crash that we ripped up the carpet and put in hardwood floors. (Sharpie is super permanent. Again, oops.)

After the floors were in and we let him in for the first time he came running in the door and slid straight across the room and smacked right into a wall. He was expecting the old carpet, not the new, shiny, smooth floors. From that day on he had a serious fear of hard floors and refused to walk on them.

Back to this house.

This house had carpet. Ugly, gross, dirty, stinky carpet. I kept telling Nick I wanted to get rid of it and he kept saying no. Not yet. Well, I guess I was selfish and didn't want to wait because one day when he was at work I ripped up all the carpet. The floors looked even shittier than the carpet but whatever.

Enter Crash. Forgot about the poor thing and his fear of hard floors. That meant he stayed in ONE spot when he came in the house. He would curl up on one tiny little spot of the rug in the dining room. Not the kitchen, not the living room, God forbid he should go downstairs. Just that one little spot.

You all know Crash passed away last year and now we have Georgie. While Crash was here, even though the floors looked crappy they pretty much stayed the same the entire time. Once Georgie, who is not afraid of hardwood floors, came around it has been a completely different story. She leaves big water spots all over, she makes it filthy and wet and grimy and now the floors look 10 times worse than before.

If you saw them before you wouldn't think it was possible for them to look worse but good lord they do.

So the other day I was trying to clean the floors and ended up getting out the sand paper and.... well, let's just say that we are renting a sander in the morning and plan to spend the weekend sanding and refinishing the floors.

I wasn't trying to be manipulative but alas....

In the end we ALL win.

Did I Say I Love October?

So it's cold. I forgot how cold it gets. It never used to bother me but something happened and I can't take it anymore.

Right now my fingers, toes, and nose are all thawing out from having sat outside in the crazy cold and wind to watch a football game.

I take it back....what I said about October. It kind of blows sometimes.

Why do I live here again?

*Before you leave any clever comments about how this is just the beginning and it's only going to get worse and I probably won't be warm again until April....Don't! I'm well aware.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

So my baby is 10. She gets smarter, funnier, sweeter, and more beautiful every year. Don't believe me....see for yourself.

Double Digits

So it's October. I really love October. The weather, the smells, the leaves turning. It makes me very, very happy. It's also the month that my beautiful girl was born. This is the year she enters the much awaited double digits.

My baby is a baby no more. She's a bright, funny, sweet, beautiful little lady.

HA HA HA HA HA

So I am posting a photo that is guaranteed to make you smile. If you're having a bad day....BOOM!, you're now laughing. Mad at the world....just take a look here. Feeling sad....this is bound to cheer you up.



You're Welcome!

Gettin' all crafty up in here

So I'm gonna try something new. I'm gonna make slip covers for some furniture.

Never tried anything like it, have no idea how to do it, but I'm a smart girl and I'm sure I can figure it out.

Ikea has fun fabric for fairly cheap so I'll probably look there first. I want to stay as cheap as possible in case I screw it all up and have to start over or just give up and buy them instead.

I will take before, during, and after pictures.

I may or may not post them.

The Indestructible Goldfish A.K.A. Lisa and Swimmy

So toilet water did nothing to these freaks of nature. In fact they might have gotten bigger last night.





P.S. You can see through the water. Because of me.

Yes....I am a horrible person

So we've had two goldfish forever. I mean seriously, aren't they supposed to live like three months or something?

I have been tempted to just "dispose" of them and be done with the mess that is their tank. It's just a small tank but it gets disgusting. And I mean really disgusting. Apparently I am the only one in this house with the knowledge to clean it. Because it's really really hard. Except that it's not hard at all. Just a huge pain in the ass.

Those damn fish don't like being taken out of their disgusting green water and put in nice clean sparkling water. They let me know how they feel by flopping like fools and getting said disgusting green water in my EYES, on my clothes, and all over the place.

Then there are the rocks. I hate the rocks. The rocks are there simply to make me crazy. The rocks get slimy, full of food and poop, and generally hazardous. It can't be healthy to get any of that business splashed up in your face.

Okay, so I got a little irritated today when I saw their tank. The water wasn't even see through. That's probably not sanitary at all, right?

So in my irritation I decided I'm done. I'm done with dealing with these things. I mean they don't even DO anything. So being the horrible person that I am, I flushed them. Yep, told you I was horrible. Except the little shits swam against it and when the dust settled there they were swimming around happily in the freaking toilet bowl. These damn things are indestructible. Of course I felt horrible for trying to flush them so I scooped them out and super, crazy cleaned their tank.

So there you go. I am a horrible person with incredible, indestructible goldfish.

FREE FREE FREE!!!

So I'm hurrying to get Gage from school so that I won't be late getting Layla from school when I see a sign. It says "FREE!" and it's on this little beauty.






I need a new desk but don't want to spend any money. Problem solved.






I kinda love it.

Homecoming '08, '09, '10

So Layla has serious school spirit. Here's the proof.