Our Home is growing by 30,000 sq ft!

I want this!

http://allcities8.california.remax.com/listings/ListingDetail_r4.aspx?LID=27895579#aTop

Hook, Line and Sinker

I LOVE Pottery Barn. I just opened up an email from them. I have to right click a box to download the pictures, and before I did so, I immediately thought... I don't even want to see what it is because I'll WANT IT! Of course it is all of their cutest Easter goodies you absolutely must have!

Their decorating is so warm and inviting. It is so simple too as in... not chaos central. I do suffer from CHAOS (Can't have anyone over syndrome) due to a lot of crap that accumulates in this house. However, I receive their catalogs regularly and even bought their series of books off Ebay. I strive for the simplicity of their decorating. In order to not have their catalogs accumulating, I do rip out pages with ideas I like and I put them into a 3 ring binder with the thing I liked best about the photo... pointed out with big marker.

My current obstacle... how do decorate the mantle. I struggle with this ALL THE TIME. Today I was thinking that I would like to put up photos of our family and closest friends - as couples. It would look great in black, or silver frames. It is after all a "family" room.

On a final note... I did have my hair cut off. I will post a photo of it this coming weekend. I have a weird thing that happens... when I have my hair cut, it takes me about a week to get it looking the way I want. So right now, I'm going to just hibernate and try to get around inconspicuously for a few days. Unfortunately it's not like no one will notice. Lynda my hair guru said we should have done a before and after. Yep. It's that drastic. Holds goo much better now, lol.

Cheers!

Stop the mania!

Did you watch Grey's Anatomy on Thursday? First off, I missed last weeks episode due to work. Then I had planned on watching it on Friday only to find they had a VERY old episode on... The one with the bomb in the body cavity.

So Thursday, I tuned in and turned the phone off! For some odd reason, we're getting a lot of phone calls after 8... from solicitors. They are very irritating.

What an emotional episode! I cried almost from beginning to end. McDreamy cried... I cried. Yang cried.... I cried. Seeing Denny.... I cried. Seeing Merediths Mom die... I cried. Bawlorama I tell you! I literally woke up on Friday with swollen eye's, lol.

I am so glad they didn't kill her off. According to www.comcast.net news, Shonda Rhimes the producer of Greys is planning to do a spin off... such as Cheers became Frasier, and some others that you may know. I was so worried they were going to take her off there, but then again... How can it be "GREY'S Anatomy" with out Grey? Meredith that is....

The battle ensues with the food at work. Yesterday it was food from Red Lobster. No seafood of course but a HUGE tray of chicken strips, with every possible dip they make, 2 HUGE bowls of salad, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and their famous cheddar biscuits. I was very good and only had 1 Cheddar Bay Biscuit. It was delicioso.

On my blog, you will notice a link on the side for Katrina's blog. I urge you to take a gander. She & Kraig are currently in Mexico getting a healthy dose of Vitamin D, but when they return, she will be embarking on an incredible journey through IVF. Join me in my good karmic thoughts for them. I see her not only having a baby, but I am coming up with the color blue every time I think of her. If you don't see the link her it is... http://secondcitystories.blogspot.com

That's it! CUT IT OFF!

I can't take it any more. My hair is driving me NUTS! I have been growing it out along with the bangs, since... last September. It is making me totally batty. Especially now with my job. I can NOT have hair in my face. Some girls do it, but for me... I don't feel it is professional. So my appointment is for 9:30 Saturday morning. Chop chop!

Doomed I tell ya!

I don't know how in the world I am EVER going to lose weight! With the recent news about how Heart Disease will affect almost ALL American women, I must admit, that just adds more to my pandemonium. I have already diagnosed myself with an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) regarding my kitchen floor. I am so obsessed with the crumbs that end up on it. I would be willing to bet that every time I am walking through and I feel a crumb through my sock.... my blood pressure increases by 20 points easily. I am half tempted to get a dog just so he can eat the crumbs! lol.

So I worked at the Urgent Care again tonight. I happened to swing into the break room for a potty break, and noticed 2 boxes on the counter... make that three. 2 boxes of pazckis (sorry if it's wrong, I don't think this word is in spell check), and 1 box of Whitmans Sampler Chocolates. Just knowing what is in the "donut" boxes, I avoided those all together. I did, however, succumb to 1 piece of chocolate out of the other box.

Here is the problem... I offically started at the Urgent Care on February 8th. I work 2-3 days per week. I have had to buy only ONE lunch in all of that time! The drug reps bring in so much fricken food, it's sick. How in the world is anyone supposed to eat healthy and lose weight? God, no wonder they do such good business. They are trying to kill everyone with their goodies! We're going to become their biggest clients.

Tomorrow I am taking a stand. I am asking my family to bring me a lunch since I'm working the day shift. I told Emily that I even want her to put a note in it for me, just like I do for her every day. A nice lean meat sandwich on whole grain bread would be nice, with a bottle of water and a nice piece of fruit... preferably a banana which I happen to be craving.

This is going to be a horrendous struggle. Luckily the Prompt care is VERY FAR from the break room, which makes it very inconvenient to visit frequently. Amen!

P.S. For the locals... tonight was VERY slow. I need job security. Please spread the word that we are open and no one needs to have a Beaumont doctor to be seen. They will even fax your info over to your doctor, no matter which health system they belong to. Very high class in my opinion. Open 7 days per week, 10am to 10pm.

Tip O' the Day...

I've known this for a relatively short period of time, but today I read it in Prevention and I feel it deserves a spot on this blog...

ICE = In Case of Emergency.

You should store this (ICE) in your cell phone with the phone number that is to be contacted in case something happens to you. Let me tell you... I can not tell you how many times in the past that I have gone through a patients purse or wallet, including scrolling through a cell phone to contact someone, because the patient was not able to do so, nor communicate to whom the call should be placed. We are all human. Things happen. Be sure that your loved ones can be contacted if something should happen to you.

In my phone I have "ICE - Dennis" and his cell phone. I will be changing it so that it has his cell, home number, and work number.

"What the HELL is this!"

These were the resident 5 year old's EXACT words as he held up a slice of cantaloupe at Bakers Square during dinner. Apparently the little man did not know that it looks like that when you slice it. As I was trying to "correct" him, I ended up with my face buried in Emily's back as I was laughing uncontrollably. Anyone within an earshot of this child had to hear that.

I'm chalking this one up to Emily's "F" bomb when we were house hunting!
We were looking at a house. Dennis tried to open the bedroom blinds to see what the view was outside the window, but could not find the cord. He states, "What the..." and 2 year old Emily promptly filled in the blank!

Ahhhh yes... another day in paradise......

Arctic Winds are Blowing....brrrrrrr......

1 tank top, 1 tee-shirt, 1 turtleneck, 1 pair long johns, jeans, socks, fleece pull-over, winter squall coat, hat, scarf, and gloves... That is what I wore to clear the tundra off the driveway.

This is what Emily chose to wear...

Katrina is All Knowing...

I just KNOW she will love that title and will probably be on the horn telling me to delete this. She is the only gal I know that can find anything, and I mean ANYTHING on the Internet. Dawn once called me asking about a diet coke commercial jingle. There was a song that she and Vinnie wanted to download to iTunes. So I popped on to IM and asked Katrina. Whammo! Within seconds she had the name of the Title, Artist and where they can find it :o)

So this is what I found today. Katrina you will LOVE this...
I don't know if I posted it before, but for some odd reason, I accidentally over "fixed" our computer and I fixed myself right out of being able to use blogger. I could only access it from the laptop. So today while perusing Katrina's blog, I felt it necessary to post a comment to egg on her non-crafty friend. I posted my comment, then signed in as usual. For the past month I have not been able to sign in at all. Only on the laptop. Well suddenly I found myself able to sign in! Right on Katrina's blog! Well then I went back to my blog and found that the "sign in" carried over to my own! Then after a few clicks of trying things, here I am! I am so blown away that I'm back. There are lip prints all over my monitor. smooooch!

Now I can post pictures again without having do download them to 1 pc, then send them to another. What a PITA!

Something else happened today that I must share... Den and I have been talking about buying a new vacuum. The one we had, has been in my possession since..... (you better sit down) 1994? Dawn burst out laughing when she heard that. She's been through like 3 vacuums since she and Vinnie have been together for 4 long years.

So while we were tearing out the carpeting in the Living Room this past August, we found a lot and I mean A LOT of dirt under the carpet. BUT.... we don't know how long that carpeting has been there, so we just thought that "maybe" it was from the other owners or some odd reason. Now I know that there will always be some dirt that will fall through but I'm talking about enough to shovel out! It was nuts! Hello shopvac!

We have been talking about vacuums for a couple months. It's almost like buying a new dishwasher. Very pricey, and "what if" it's a pain in the hoo haa to use, what if it won't suck smoke out of the air (not that I plan on cooking any time soon), but you know... How do you know if you're getting a good one?

While we had another snow day today, the littles and I ventured out to Bed Bath and Beyond (site of the gift switcheroo from previous blog entry). I had a handy dandy 20% off coupon. I finally decided that I wanted to buy the Healthy Home Vac from I think Bissel. I just remember the Healthy home part. You know the commercial. Where the chic that almost looks like she's wearing turn out gear, thinks she's all that and can wipe out a dust ball in a fraction of a second. I decided on this one because of it's advantages with the our two boys, Booster and Pumpkin. You could make a new cat out of what falls off of them.

Picture us... Greg in the big part of the buggy playing with his newly acquired syringe from Daddy's fire department. His red hat that Nana made him on crooked. Emily swinging around a ceiling fan brush I decided we can't live without and me... looking at everything but the healthy home vac that they just don't have.

So I decided to pick something else so that I could still get my 20% off. I picked out the Hoover Savvy Vacuum. It has an attached hose, and lots of attachments that fit right on to the vacuum. I brought it home, put it together and vacuumed.... for 3 straight hours, lol. I was shocked and almost sick when I saw what it picked up out of my room and Greg's room. The canister was FULL and I was pissed! I can't believe that after all the years I have been using old faithful, he was slacking on the job! I emptied out the canister and then went to town on the hallway. I also dusted every piece of furniture in every room that the vacuum went into. When I say dusted, I mean, pulled out the hose and put on the little thingy.

The crap from the hallway carpeting was 2" thick in the canister! I put it in a ziplock bag to show Denny when he comes home tomorrow. 2" thick! I just vacuumed the fricken bedrooms and hallway last week! No wonder we're all congested, and sneezing. I am just blown away.

The moral to the story? If your vacuum is more than 5 years old and not cleaning well... It's time for a new one. You will be "floored" by what you're not picking up!

... I'm afraid to log off... what if I can't get on again? oh well.... click!

Placemats and Towels...

Imagine my surprise when Dennis opened this birthday gift from the kids and I. I had ordered a floating pool cooler with cup holders in it for his Birthday. Bed Bath and Beyond made a mistake and sent placemats and towels for him. We were quite shocked... note to self... do not have anything ordered through mail gift wrapped.

Today I turned 29... for the seventh time. I awoke to fresh coffee, and a very easy morning. Dennis gave me a stellar gift! A gift card in a very large denomination to an upscale spa down the street. The kids backed it up with a gift card to my favorite store... Starbucks! My mom also made me a beautiful afgan for our living room. She's been knitting it for months! Emily commented that Nana must really love me because she's been working on it forever!

I spent the day in Mrs. Tash's Begindergarten class with Greg. We made wreaths out of hearts, had snacks, and played games. He was taken out of the Hot Potato game quickly because he wasn't paying attention.

For dinner, grilled steaks, fresh tomatos and mozarella in herbs and olive oil... Yummy!

It's been a great day. Namaste.

The Gods MUST be kidding... Rant to follow...

What I am about to state does not leave this blog. You will read it, be shocked right along with me and then will never discuss it again...

Yesterday was my first day at the new Macomb Prompt Care. I worked from 12 - 10 pm. Before I left, I told Dennis (and made him look at me with the hopes that he would be listening) that it is IMPERATIVE that the kids are IN BED by 8 PM. They have both been sick lately and they need their rest.

Before I go on... I must add that things are still very bizarre at the prompt care as the phone systems are going down, the computers are going down. Yesterday they lost power to the X ray room. These are NORMAL glitches that need to be worked out. So we all carry our cell phone's in our pockets. I just never had the opportunity to call home and let them know because we were steady with patients.

So I come home from work around 10:45ish. Emily is wide awake in my bed, next to Dennis. Here is the course of our conversation;

Me: "What is she doing in our bed?"
Mr. Disconnected: "I think she's trying to pull something"
Me: "Pull what"
Emily says crying, "My ear hurts"
Me: "When did this start?"
Emily: "When we went running around after school".
Me to Den: "Did you give her anything?"
Den: "I gave her Motrin at around 5:45"
Me: "We need to give her some Tylenol then".

So I go fumbling around looking for the Tylenol and notice that I can't find the Motrin. So I take the bottle of tylenol and ask him. "Is this what you gave her?"
He replies "Yes"

Well (this is the part in my mind that a bunch of expletives are starting to come out) Can you even imagine if I gave her the same thing that he already gave her? Now Tylenol you can give every 4 -6 hours. Motrin 6-8 They are completely different and processed in different places in your body. Had I given her on overdose, that would have just made it worse, although we were past the 4 hours from the Tylenol so I gave it again then called Mrs. Putter (my mom) for advice.

At 12:30 this morning after being awakened by the sound of Misses Sickly moaning in her bedroom, I bring her into my room. I tried rubbing her back, stroking her arm, and caressing her to take her mind off the pain. I start going over and over in my mind, "Please let her pain go away, please let her fall asleep." By 3:30 am I proudly announced to Mr. Disconnected that Emily needs to be seen in an ER, and he should take her because she and I shouldn't be in a parking lot at that hour. Plus I was so angry about him blowing off the perfect opportunity, to have one of the "more than qualified" doctors that I was working with, including our own freaking family physician look at her that I felt he should have to do this. I mean come on... He could have called my cell and even left a voice mail for me. But the thing is, I had my phone in my pocket, and instead of him leaving a message, I would have actually answered the call.

So at that hour, he and Emily trucked off to the ER. She has a nasty middle ear infection. On top of the cold she had S, M, and T of this week, the stomach flu she had on Wednesday and now this. OMG. Are the gods crazy?

I am very bitter with him at this moment and feel that it is better that he is at work, because I may just lose my mind with him. For some odd reason, I do not remember there being an "I" in TEAM!

This information does not leave this blog. You may comment if you wish, but do not call my house or email me going off about it. I don't need any salt in the wound with him. I will deal with him in my own time. K? K.

I would like to leave you with this... Normally Mr. Currently I'm Disconnected, is attentive to the needs of our family. I'm not sure what his deal is lately, but I assure you... it will be pointed out.

And that my friends is my .02 cents.

A Large Dose of Good Karma

People are amazing. This past week has been extremely stressful for me. A lot has gone on in my personal life that is out of the ordinary. In all of the events that have occured, I received two non-material, but equally amazing gifts.

My Psychology professor gave me one of the greatest gifts. Since the beginning of the class, I have had a 350 word paper due every Monday. With Mike & Mary Ann here, and a new boss breathing down my neck, Greg's sinus infection, and now Emily with the stomach flu... my professor has voluntarily given me the opportunity to turn my paper in late without any deductions from the score. While I have been on top of my school work like you can't believe, I suddenly found myself drowning in everything that was happening... all at once. Words can not express how grateful I am for her generosity.

Secondly, my boss scared the crap out of me and had me thinking I would be canned if I didn't get in to train THIS WEEK (never mind that I was pretty much hired for this job last spring and could have ran the entire office by now with the amount of time I could have had to train).

Yesterday while I was in the office he gave me the second gift... Today off. Today I was able to take care of Emily the puker, finish the paper the way I wanted to, and do A LOT of laundry. Not to mention I took notice of how beautiful the sun was shining today. This day was an amazing gift and suddenly I am looking forward to all of the gifts Spring has to offer.... in a few months. But that's ok. In my mind, I'm already there.

Namaste.

More from the Red Hot Night

Valerie & Donna (Emily's Godmother) Mary Ann & Mike (Valerie's Brother)

Details from the edge...

Saturday, February 3rd, Dennis and I went with Mike & Mary Ann to the 17th Annual Red Hot Night that Shelby Township Fire Department puts on every year. We had a wonderful time. Unfortunately we did not win anything, but the thought of more children being able to go to camp made us very happy. We are thinking that eventually when Emily and Greg are old enough, we will take them and volunteer at the camp.

Today Mike & Mary Ann left to go start their new life in Beaufort, South Carolina. Their departure is bittersweet. While we have had a great time with them, and will miss them very much, we know that they are eager to get on with their lives now that they are living back in the States. They have pretty much been in limbo since they were married in October. Now they are on their way "home" to close on their new house, and get back to work. Mike will be stationed in Beaufort, and Mary Ann is retiring from the Navy. She will be looking for other work. I am just envious that this week it will hit 67 degrees in Beaufort!

Macomb Prompt Care opened today. I worked in the practice which is behind the prompt care. MPC saw a grand total of ZERO patients all day, lol. Tomorrow the big sign is going to be put on the building, and the one out by the highway is going to be changed stating that it's open. Lucky for me, I don't have to work tomorrow, so I am going to use that day to get caught up on all of my homework. Things have been insanely crazy around here, and I have missed some English classes. I have a paper due in psych too. So as soon as Emily walks out the door for school, I am going to be VERY busy!

Well, I believe that is about it on this end. It just occurred to me moments ago that I haven't posted anything in a week. It's been very exhausting and I feel myself pulling back from many things. It is getting almost impossible to keep up with everything. Major life changes!