My husband is a slob, but I still love him.....

My husband is an unsufferable slob. It is all I can do to keep up with kids, but he has to add to the problem in my room. In his defense, he does help around the rest of the house quite a bit, but this is a total peeve of mine. I walk into my room and I feel totally defeated. This is what my room looks like when he is in charge of it. Every wonder what he has worn the last few days? Just look around his side of the bed and you will have to wonder no more.....

And then there are the kid's rooms. I took an entire day cleaning out the toy boxes and organizing toys. Wonder what their rooms look like the next day when I had to work? Well, wonder no more....

And let's not forget when they took out every blanket and sheet and piled them in the middle of my room.... I came home at 3AM to find this little surprise....

Heaven help me, I certainly need it,.... AND a maid..

Christmas decor....

Christmas is almost over, so I figured I had better get this on there... I am so lame!!

Use it or Lose it.....

Well, for the past two weeks, I have been burning 86 hours of vacation time. It was either burn it, or lose it. I painted Abby's room, decorated for Christmas, spent time with family, and took a whole day cleaning out the toy boxes and getting rid of stuff. I am worn out. I also did some scrapbooking, but it was for someone else so my HUGE pile is still there. :) I still have more to do for others, then I will do some for myself.

Black Friday a bust

Well, my husband I got up just after 4:00 AM to partake in the Black Friday shopping. It was a total waste of time. The line outside of Best Buy was wrapped around the corner, and some stupid people slept in tents there all night. NOTHING is worth that, it was freezing. I went to Kohls, wanting to find some toys for kids and boots for me.

Well, when we got there, the line for the cash register went from the front of the store to the back of the store. It was so ridiculous, that Wentworth Miller could have been on sale for a dollar, and I would not have waited in that line. Well, maybe for him, but that is unlikely to happen. :) Not to mention that they had opened at 4 and I arrived closer to 5. The toy department was torn to shreds, and the things I wanted to get for the kids were mostly gone. But, as I was leaving the store, I noticed one of them lying on some clothing in the men's section, next to the register in jewelry that had a small line. I snuck into that, and sent my husband on a scavenger hunt while I waited less than 5 minutes in the small line. HA, outsmarted them!! Otherwise, I would have left there empty-handed.

We did not attempt much else. There was NO line at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, so I went in and got the curtain rod and tie backs I wanted for Abby's room..... and we braved Home Depot just to learn that the $30 worth of stuff we wanted was almost $80 and we have to send in a bunch of rebates. That is so stupid, I hate mail in rebates. Oh well, there wasn't anything that I REALLY wanted, anyway. I would like to find a wii for the kids, well, mostly for my husband, but I won't sweat it if I don't find one.

out of the mouths of babes

While I was painting Abby's room, I was doing the glaze which requires just smearing it all over the walls. My youngest child came over and asked, "Mom, are you working on a masterpiece?" I told her that I was, to which she replied, "well, it's horrible." Gotta love the honesty of a child.

Abby's bedroom makeover

Abby talked me into painting her room pink, of all colors, when we moved in. I decided to redo it, because I hated the pink... so I retextured the walls, then painted and glazed it. The pink is before, the one on the right is after the paint but before the glaze. The middle one is after, and I don't know why, but the circles in the corner are on the camera and not the wall..... :) My arms hurt, now.... I did buy her some curtains, but I don't like the curtain rod so I have to get her another one. I will work on that this weekend, on Black Friday!!

Halloween decor

And, better late than never, right? This was my Halloween one. The black table was my Valentine's gift and it in the entry way of the house. It has a mirror over it, which I try not to get into the photo due to the glare. The other is in the living room.

Thanksgiving decor

Well, since I rarely get any days off, all I do when I do get one is clean. However, besides scrapbooking (which I have not done in almost a year) I like to decorate my new table (that Ryan bought me for Valentine's Day last year.) Thanks Ryan!! :)

Update

Well, I rarely look at this anymore, which is sad because I enjoy reading about everyone and what they are doing. I just had some family visiting from South Carolina. It caused me to slow down and I actually saw two movies (Transformers and Harry Potter,) went to Park City and rode the Alpine Coaster, and actually had some time off.

Otherwise, summer has been crazy and I have been working a lot. Hope everyone is well.

a day off!!!

Well, tomorrow is my first day off since May 12. I am so excited!! Of course, I have a million things to do and not enough time to do it, but I will try my best and get done what I can do. The hot tub broke, so I have to call someone before the water gets ruined since we just refilled it. Busy day.

Ryan got a new job and seems to love it. I am glad, things have been more than crazy at our house. I have two days off, so Ryan and I are going to do something when he gets back from Hurricane. Hope everyone is well!!

No, I am not dead... yet

Well, I have not posted anything in so long, nor have I had time to read other's blogs. I have been working a ton. Hubby's job was not going well, but he just got a new job so things are looking hopeful. I am hoping the summer does not pass me by, again, like the last one did. It is my favorite season, and I hate it when I don't get to enjoy it.

We did get a new puppy. She is sweet, not that I have seen her much, or anyone else for that matter. Hubby is going to his parent's house tomorrow for his sister's graduation. I feel bad that I cannot go with him. It seems that work is always in the way of me attending family functions, which should be my top priority but always seem to get pushed to the back. This time it is out of financial desperation since hubby has not had any work for a few weeks.

I hope that everyone is well. Things should slow down around here soon, and I may actually get a few days off!!

I want a new dog.....

I found a cute little dog to replace Cora, but Ryan says no!! :(

Easter love

My youngest daughter came in to me today while I was getting ready for work. She informed me that she gave one of my teenagers her Easter candy. I asked her why she did that, and she replied "because I am sweet." She needs a little work in the humility department, but what can I say?

Also, I will point out my world's greatest mom moment. I didn't get to dye eggs with my kids because someone (who will remain nameless, right Ryan?) forgot to boil the eggs while I was at work, even after being reminded. But it was ME that insisted on returning egg coloring that Ryan bought because I was SURE we already had some. In my absence, he went to color eggs with the kids and there wasn't any. It was late, so we waited until today.

Yes, that is right, we colored eggs late on Easter day, and then hid them and let them find them. It wasn't my most prepared Easter Day. Oh well, I did remember to buy candy. :) That's all the kids will remember, right?

In loving memory.....

It seems weird to not have Cora roaming around the house, licking up things the little ones spilt on the ground. I really miss her. I am sad, but I know that she died knowing that she was loved......

RIP beloved dog.....

I am very sad to say that our largest dog, Cora, passed away today. She had a stroke and died at the age of 9 months. It was the saddest thing to watch her and know there was nothing I could do to stop it. I felt so awful. She was a beautiful dog, and she was a great pet. She will be greatly missed, and may she rest in peace......

Can you feel the love?

I was reading a family newletter, recently, that informed family that the grandparents just celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. (Or sixty-something, I forget.) My loving husband and I had the following conversation:

ME: "Honey, isn't that cute? Just think, if we live long enough, we will be in our nineties on our 60th wedding anniversary."
him: "Hunh, we will be lucky if we make it to our eighth anniversary."

That is this September, by the way. Men are such jerks.

hubby's office

While my hubby spent a well-deserved fishing trip with his brother, I spent the few days painting his future office. It had plain white walls, as seen in the before photo. I retextured it, primed and painted, and then applied a glaze over it. My hubby and his brother thought that it turned out pretty cool. Now I just have to figure out what to do about some furniture. :) The after picture isn't framed as well, but I WAS in a hurry!!!

we are white trash.....

Our next to the youngest daughter had a project to do for school where she had to make a "contraption" to catch a leprechaun. It gave a diagram example of a mousetrap sort of thing. (A treat to lure the leprechaun, and over it a cage to catch it when it was lured to the treat.)

My husband decided to help her do this, so he got some pennies and glued them onto a piece of cardboard. Then, he took duct tape and placed it around the pennies. It's a different kind of mouse trap, like sticky traps. She may get a prize for creativity, but it looks sad. I could hear the banjo playing in the background while he was making it. :)

He reminded me of the catapult one of our other kids had to make. We waited until the last minute, and my husband was busy with school. My hubby wadded up newpaper and taped it together to make the catapult. These were lovingly displayed at the next parent-teacher conference. My husband said there were ones made out of metal and wood with all sorts of fancy levers and things, and then our sons was there with his taped up newpaper. He sad it was the sadest thing and he was so embarassed. But, did he learn a lesson from this? I guess not, he is doing it again to our daughter. I will make her another one, to save her the embarassment.

I made another one with her. It wasn't the best either, so I can see that my West Virginia days weren't in vain!! At least we took the time to make something with her....that really is the point, isn't it?

thanks for noticing.....

Today my husband and I went out to eat at Bajio. While waiting in line, he whispers to me, "Don't you think it is "odd" how a place like this attracts young, attractive girls? I mean, everytime I come in here, it's full of nice looking young women." UH, thanks for noticing, HONEY!!! Some men will NEVER learn......

that's so gay.....

I was just reading an article about a Mormon girl living in CA that was being harassed by schoomates. They asked her if she had, like ten moms. She retorted, "that's so gay." She end up in the principal's office and got punished and a letter in her file. Her parents are suing, stating that the school is violating her First Amendment rights, and also had failed to punish any students for teasing her about the Mormon stereotype. This whole thing is so gay.......

new job assignment

Well, I can hardly stand sitting around my house, it is driving me insane. :) I tried to do some stuff on Saturday, but totally overdid it. Oh well...... I have two more weeks off to recover.

That said, when I return to work I will be doing light duty stuff for a while. Then, I have two weeks of a Drug Recognition Expert class. When I finish that, my work call number changes as does my job assignment. I have been assigned to a contract city for a while, but I will be moving to a canyon team. The difference is that I am not dispatched to calls, I am out there for proactive work, only.

I am honored to be given this position. It is a highly sought-after position, and I was given it due to a good work ethic and good work in general. It also comes with some stress as they expect you to produce a lot of drug and alcohol arrests. Usually, this isn't too hard in the canyons. I am excited to have a new assignment, and I will be working with a great team. If and when I can ever get my butt off of this couch........

recovery update

Well, I have to say that this surgery was pretty much what I anticipated. It feels like I have horrible cramps. Besides the catheter being the most uncomfortable thing in the world right now (about like having a huge eyelash stuck in your eye) I am not much more that exhausted. At least I am catching up on my sleep, and reading a few books. :) I can't wait to get home and catch up on scrapbooking. Hope that everyone is doing well, and hope that you had a great Valentine's Day!! We went to eat at Noodles and Company, then went to the bookstore to grab a few books. Romantic, huh? Next year, we will prepare better!! Love you all!!!

Valentine's Display

Well, I thought I would preserve my Valentine's table since it will be taken down soon. It was fun, and I got some cute cheap stuff. I moved the table out of my living room to the foyer to decorate it.

I also got some stuff to do an Easter table. I like decorating. The only thing is... people like to put their crap on my table. Makes me mad..... It's the first thing that you see when you walk in my door, but I want it to look nice!!

So, here it is...... and I will post the Easter one. I love holidays laden with candy!!

more about life

Well, life has been crazy, as usual. I am about to be off of work for over 2 weeks. Unfortunately, it won't be for fun. I have a daughter that has lost her ability to think straight, and I am so sick of working every day that I am almost glad I am having surgery!! So, here is to hoping that she pulls her head out of her behind, and that I can recover quickly so I can get my household and children in order before returning to work.

My mother's sister

My mother called to inform me that her sister is dying. She called to tell me the same thing in 1998, and it was the same sister. She has a brain tumor. This sister of hers is mildly retarded, and has brought forth into this world two children that also had mental handicaps. My grandmother raised the daughter, and her son was raised by her. I am not sure how long his criminal history currently is, but he is somewhere in his twenties.

Growing up, I never saw her. I walked right past her once, she was ringing the Salvation Army bell outside the mall. I didn't even recognize her. She would call my mother every year at Christmas to see if my mother could drop off gifts to her house, and give her some cash. Otherwise, we never saw or heard from her. It's sad really. The only job I ever knew of her having was an illegal one.

Society really has no help in place for people like her. I always thought that she had such a sad life. Living off welfare and not really aware of what was going on around her. Since 1998, she has lived in a nursing home as she has been unable to care for herself. I feel sad for her that her whole life has seemed lacking of something. Maybe it isn't obvious to her, so maybe she doesn't even care. I feel bad for her, there is so much to enjoy from life, and she never really did any of it due to her mental state.

I also feel bad that I know she is going to pass away, and she is my aunt. Yet, I don't really feel a sadness for her. I am almost happy for her that she can have a much better existence after she passes away. She won't be miserable and cooped up inside of a nursing home with the hum drum of routine every day. I hope she passes away peacefully, when she does, and that she enjoys a hereafter much better than the present has given her. More importantly, I hope that my grandmother can deal with it OK. I can't imagine having a child of mine pass away before I do. My grandmother has watched two husbands, and several of her children pass away in infancy. May God give her strength and watch over her.

Grandpa

I was recalling today an incident wherein my grandfather ran over a lady with his car. My brother and I were in the back seat, and he was making a right turn at a red light. There was a lady crossing the crosswalk, and he didn't see her. He hit her, and she had been carrying some packages that she threw upon being hit. She landed on the hood and was yelling for him to stop.

So, he stops.... and she goes flying onto the ground. She stands up, and goes to walk over to the driver's door. My grandfather just DRIVES OFF!!! My brother and I were young, and were sure we were going to jail. My grandmother is yelling at him to stop, and he looks at her in the rear-view mirror and comments, "Oh, she's OK." I thought that I was going to die. My grandmother yelled at him all the way home.

What on earth was he thinking? It's so funny that I can't tell someone about it now and not laugh so hard I could hardly spit the words out. But, at the time, I was scared that I was going to jail. He should never have been driving......

just one more....

I could not resist it..... Isn't he cute? I named him Dante, but my husband doesn't like the name. We are going to breed him with a female that a neighbor of ours is going to buy. The puppies are so expensive, but I think that we got a good deal.

The smaller the better, for breeding. He is smaller than 2 lbs, and is about 12 weeks old. He got some shots today, as did the other dog almost in the photo but he moved. He got groomed today, too. He is cuter with more hair. They both got microchips. So, as if our house wasn't loud enough!! I also just learned that we are breaking a city ordinance. There is a limit of two animals in the city. Oh well, if nobody complains, we are OK. Or, how about these two are so small, they only count as one? LOL, don't worry..... we are done!!! No more pets!!!

freezing

I HATE the cold, and right now it is 1 degree outside. On top of that, my work requires me to be outside for certain things, and that makes it miserable. My only consolation is that I hope I am burning some extra calories trying to keep my body warm!! I am ready to move to Florida, now.

Belated Christmas present.....

Well, this is a new belated Christmas present. My husband is working down South today, and on his way home is going to pick him up. I don't have a name yet, any ideas? I was thinking of Toby, I also like Dante and Atticus, but I feel like they are more big male dog names. :) I can't wait to see him, but hubby won't return until tomorrow as he is going to stay at his mother's house tonight. The kids will love it, and I hope our other dog doesn't get jealous. I will make sure I give her lots of love, too. I took the other dog, Cora, with me to PetSmart today to get some things for this one. I will post Homecoming pictures later!!