Update

Well, I've been a little sick, not terrible, just a cold, but its had me down a little. Friday Dorothy came for a visit and we had SO MUCH FUN! We went to Trader Joes in Nora, Good Earth Natural Foods Store in Broad Ripple, had sushi at Sakura, and also bought some fancy German meats at Claus' German Sausage and Meats at Fountain Square. It was a crazy fun day! :-)
(As for the picture, Dorothy's eye is really not swollen as it appears... I promise I did not beat her up!)

Update

Ally and Trey playing with Meggie. It totally looks like Trey is trying to nurse, doesn't it lol!?!?! He sure does love his dog!

Nothing much has been going on around here. I'm still addicted to Facebook, and haven't been able to crochet in a while. I am considering trying to work some on the doily I started a while ago tomorrow, though.

Charles is feeling like crap, and thinks he might be getting the flu. Dorothy was supposed to be coming up tomorrow, but since a crazy storm is headed our way she's gonna wait until Friday. As Charles is feeling not so hot, this is probably a good thing. I had a migraine coming on with the storm moving in, but the meds have it under control for now.

I have been really busy cooking yummy meals and trying to keep house and playing on Facebook, that my poor blog got neglected this week. I will try to get some new pics taken this week!!

Checking In

I haven't posted in a little while because I've been pretty busy being a mom, wife, chef, housekeeper, transportation provider, and well, I guess just a SAHM, huh??? :-)

This week Syd got glasses - they are so cute!

This afternoon she has her annual check-up. She is excited to see how tall she is and if she's lost any weight since last year. (Unfortunately, she's already becoming obsessed with her weight...) She also just loves her pediatrician and is always excited to see her, so that's a good thing.

The snow is heading our way, and I'm hoping we get less than anticipated!!

Definition for Dorothy (and cooking plans)

Crème fraîche (IPA: [kʁɛm fʁɛʃ], French for "fresh cream") is a heavy cream slightly soured with bacterial culture, but not as sour or as thick as sour cream. Originally a French product, today it is available throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Crème fraîche can be made at home by adding a small amount of cultured buttermilk or sour cream to normal heavy cream, and allowing to stand for several hours at room temperature until the bacterial cultures act on the cream.

Crème fraîche is very similar to sour cream, however its higher fat content and lower viscosity allow it several advantages. Unlike sour cream, crème fraîche can be mixed with air to form whipped cream. Furthermore, the higher lipid content (and lower protein content) of crème fraîche allow it to be directly cooked without curdling.

As for cooking plans... I am SOO tired of the same old things I've been cooking for years and years. So, I was looking through my new Betty Crocker cookbook that Dorothy got me for Christmas and went to the store tonight to get all the "fixins" for some new deliciousness.

So, the plans for the next few days will be a mix of old standbys and new additions:

• Mexican 7 Layer Dip
• Quesadillas
• Fish Sandwiches with a coleslaw dressing
• Shrimp Etouffee
• Pot Roast
• Shepherd's Pie
• Lemon Chicken Pasta Toss
• Cheesy Potato Soup
• New England Clam Chowder
• Chicken Fajita Rollups

Hopefully the new things will be tasty - I'll try to keep you updated hehe!!!

Somewhere over the rainbow.....

But anyway - we were supposed to go to my Aunt's house for some yummy Chicken Cordon Bleu, but the stupid snow/ice storm kept us from going. ; ; We are all very sad... BUT - the good news is that we have rescheduled for next Sunday. WOOT!!!

As usual, not much going on around here - my Family Tree Maker file now has over 15,200 names in it, and that is very exciting. ^^ I actually worked my way through a brick wall I've had for like 15 years lol. My GGGGrandparents - seems like everyone had them confused with two OTHER people named very similarly and assumed they were the same people. I never did because the dates weren't logical, and FINALLY I found proof - and that opened a whole SLEW of new names and info. It's all very exciting - well, to me anyway. (And Jennifer maybe lol who would totally understand my excitement)

Trey is doing GREAT with school, even though its only 30min 2x/week. He's repeating words and using a few new ones spontaneously. His favorites are "honey" and "shadow" lol. Oh, and "bad" hehe...

Thought of the Day

Isn't the "Civil War" an oxymoron??

I'm sure you've heard that before, but seriously... War isn't civil.

And on a TOTALLY unrelated note - - - if you have a runny nose and congestion - try the New Puffs Plus tissues w/ VicksVaporub in them!! They are AWESOME!!! (The smell is very strong though)

Finally!!!

I finally got my camera to work with the laptop AND my phone, too!! So now I can put pics on here again YAY!!!!

So enjoy! :-)

Some Halloween, some Christmas tree decorating (with Sydney in a bikini, because isn't that how EVERYONE decorates the tree?!?!?!), some of mother-in-law's bday party, and the MOHAWK!!!

Spots and Critters

Well I don't think the spots were/are chicken pox. The bumps on pox usually rupture within 12 hrs or so and these never really did. So I don't really know what they were/are. Charles thinks they're chiggers, but they don't really look like any chiggers I've ever had. (Although he swears they look like all chiggers he's ever had...lol). I know have 2 spots and Sydney has a handful, too. Hopefully these will all just clear up really quickly.

Now, the next thing is..... my dog has fleas. I know what you are thinking and you are wrong lol! You think that our spots are flea bites! But they aren't. The spots that Ally and Trey have started out as blistery things, not spots like a bug bite. I honestly can't believe that we haven't been eaten alive by fleas because normally if there is a flea in the room, it will surely bite Charles and I both. One time when we lived in Sullivan, we had just moved into a house that was already infested. Wow! That was not fun. You would literally see them bouncing around when you looked at the carpet. We had to set off bombs about 4x before we killed all those suckers - and we looked like we had leprosy or something. Before we finally got rid of them we had to sit with long pants tucked into tall socks, and keep our feet off the floor. That was NOT a fun first few weeks of living somewhere, lemme tell ya!

YAY Sydney is coming home!

Syd is on her way home - woot! We really miss her alot when she's gone. She really keeps the younger two entertained lol...

I haven't posted much lately, but honestly nothing has been going on - just normal day to day blah blah blah, you know?

We watched You, Me and Dupree yesterday, which was really funny because the night before I'd had a dream that I knew Matt Dillon in real life hahah!!!

Oh, there is a 4 part show on The Discovery Channel that Charles has been really excited about lately - Building the Future - its a very interesting show about all sorts of neat new things. Check it out!

CRAZINESS!!!

First of all, let me put a disclaimer in here... I like all SORTS of music - AC/DC, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Eminem, Coldplay, Kid Rock, Aerosmith, Madonna, The Killers, Johnny Cash, The Doors, Hole, Gwen Stefani, Fergie, Iron Maiden, and even Kelly Clarkson... (those are the ones who have the most songs on my iPod...)

So I don't say this because I don't like the music, but ------

Isn't there something a little strange about the fact that The Who is on tour, Ozzy has a new album, and Slayer is still able to sell tickets??? hahahha!! Maybe it's just me...

Anyway - Sydney is having fun at Nana's, and I'm sitting here with a plate of cold corndogs I fixed but nobody wanted watching the cat chase gnats that have sprung up by the desk from some food spill nobody bothered to tell me about... Can you say BOREDOM???? I'm supposed to be cleaning, but I really really really really really don't want to!!!!! REALLY! for. real. *sigh* But alas, I must... !@#$!@#%$!@$@#$%#%@!#$!!! :-)

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind. You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

You Are 62% Pure

You're pretty pure, and you have no plans on changing that. You do have a devilish side though... and it will probably get the better of you.

The 100 Question Purity Test

You Are 56% Peaceful

In general, you think the world's a pretty great place - and you're happy to be a part of it. Sometimes you struggle with life, but who doesn't? You are quite level headed, though you have more inner angst than you'd like.

How Peaceful Are You?

You Are 24% Sociopath

From time to time, you may be a bit troubled and a bit too charming for your own good. It's likely that you're not a sociopath... just quite smart and a bit out of the mainstream!

Are You A Sociopath?

Liftoff!

Charles, Ally, Trey and I sat and watched the Shuttle Atlantis liftoff this evening. Trey thought it was about the coolest thing. Ally was distracted as usual, lol.

Now we are sitting here watching The Situation Room on CNN listening to a special episode of Faith (or something like that - read more about it here if you are interested...) Actually we hate politics, and really aren't that interested in religious tv in general, but we wanted to hear Obama, and we actually stuck around to listen to Hillary (gag)...

Now if you know us at ALL, you know that we NEVER watch the news - especially CNN... but today was different because we wanted to keep track of Paris Hilton and watch her butt hauled back to jail where it should be! LOL Yup, it takes a major event to get us glued to CNN - its only happened a few times before... Hurricane Katrina, the trapped miners, and Ms. Hilton. LOL!!!

My Neck and My Back!

Watch This

LOL I LOVE FRIDAY!!!!

This is how I feel today lol... My back is KILLING me. I went to Wal-Mart and got a heating pad, and in combination with copious amounts of Darvocet, Skelaxin, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen, I'm dealing with it........ haha

We haven't watched many movies these past few weeks because we've been too busy doing other stuff - what we've been doing I'm not sure, though. But - we did see a few that are worth noting:

The Break-Up: I've seen this movie about 10 times now, and it's always just as funny as the first time. Highly recommended!

Apocalypto: MUCH better than expected. Also much DIFFERENT than expected. I just hope he doesn't screw around and make a sequel about the Spanish Catholics who invade discover the "new world" at the end of the film... The film looks cool, too - although when the slaves were painted blue I groaned a little and rolled my eyes that this was just Braveheart set in a Mayan setting - thankfully I was wrong. Watch a trailer here.

Oh, and I saw this sad post on PerezHilton today. Poor Tammy Faye looks terrible!

Blah Blah Blah

Well, not much going on around here, and yet it seems like never ending drama... I've been doing alot of sudoku lately. I don't really have any news or any pics to show, I just feel like I've been ignoring my blog this week. I've been kinda down and mopey and don't wanna bring all of you down with my whining. lol... I did rent some movies last night, so I will at least have some movies to post about soon.

ATTN: Mrs. H

Hey, Mrs. H! I'm writing directly to you on my blog, you feel special, don't you?? hehehe Anyway, I lost your email and I keep forgetting to ask you to send me your address again. I really still would love to respond to the email you sent me! fakeppy@comcast.net Thanks!

Ohhhh I must have one of these!

I have been on the look out for a new alarm clock, and also for a new sound machine - viola! two birds with one stone!

HoMedics SoundSpa Premier Sound Machine Clock Radio SS-5000

It even projects the time on the ceiling! I used to have one of those and it was awesome.

Ever heard of SPELL-CHECK?????

Ok quick rant... I get so frustrated when I see something written by someone and in it is a word that said person has obviously never seen in print. The ways a person can butcher a word are endless. Now, admittedly, I do have an English degree, so I am sure this is why these things bother me so, but still... The following are a few examples I have seen this week alone: placks (plaques), rod iron (wrought iron), idk, there are more I just can't think right now. Let me admit though, I am not claiming to be the world's best speller, or an expert on grammar, but I do try. Then again, I suppose most people just don't care about it like I do lol.

I have to give a little advice here, though. If you DO want your kids to be great spellers, do what my mom did with me. Anytime we have "down time" make a game out of spelling. Anytime we had to wait in a Dr.'s office or long car rides, she always game me word after word to spell. As I got older this got harder and sometimes we'd have to look words up later to see who was right. :-) Scrabble is also great for teaching spelling. (LOL in my case, I've always been a language nut, and studying word stems and histories of words and other boring things like that lol... Studying Latin for three years of high school and six semesters in college didn't hurt either hahaha.)

Another missed knitting meeting??

Man, I think I am going to miss this week's knitting meeting too!! I really hate that. My kids are all out of town and hubby and I are going to stay home and enjoy it, I think. Although I'm trying to get him to go to the movies and see Premonition. We watched 300 this weekend and it was great!

Also, I came across a link to a Dyson vacuum giveaway. Surely it won't matter that I already have a Dyson will it? Afterall, its not the new Slim that they are giving a away hehe... Anyway, here is the linky linky.

Fighting like Cats and Dogs!

Our animals love to play with each other. The problem is they hate each other lol. I tell you, I have a whole new understanding of the phrase "fighting like cats and dogs". My silly cat will hide INSIDE the box-springs of my bed and growl at the dog and I can just tell she's laughing in there - "haha, stupid dog, you can't reach me!". Then sometimes the dog catches her off guard and she gets flat as a pancake and chases the dog around the room. Now, remember my dog is a Rotty and when she starts barking at the dumb cat, you'd think she was fending off an intruder! LOL Sometimes they do this in the middle of the night just to terrorize us, I think...

Anyway, I haven't knit anything lately and I've not really been able to crochet, either. Too busy with everyday nonsense lol. Good news though, each day my house is getting better and better. Its very slowly so I don't get burnt out, but I am managing to keep everything I've already cleaned, clean and it's been almost a month. I am quite proud of myself. My mom is coming up next week (I think) to help me do all the work herself cleaning out my pantry. I'm terrified of mice, and there is at least one but probably a whole family living in there - we hear it at night clicking around in there. Honestly, I haven't even OPENED the pantry in months just because of that stupid mouse. Its all locked away from sight and mind lol.

I still knit, it's true!

I actually had time to sit down and KNIT today!!! Can you believe that?????? I did all that cleaning and still had time to knit on my dad's hat. I even cleaned UNDER MY KITCHEN SINK! (I think I need to take my temp...)

My mom told me today that one of my aunts looked at my site and said my house looked so pretty! Wow, that's so nice!! She's the only one of my dad's siblings who hasn't been to my house, actually. The others have been here once each, I think. Maybe one day I'll invite everyone up here, I don't know.

Man, it's been so weird around here lately, Ally was gone for 5 days visiting Nana and Papaw, and going to the dentist. (She has many cavities and will need to go back every two weeks for a while to get them all filled. We've been down this road before with Syd, she had 6 caps and 2 cavities when she was 13 months old. That was not fun.) Anyway, we met my parents yesterday to get Ally and send Trey lol. We already miss him. We had a horrible incident with Trey-Trey on Friday evening, which I'm not really comfortable discussing on here, but it was very scary, and makes us miss him even more. Then in a few weeks is Spring Break and they will all be gone again throughout the week giving us some more free time together. Its funny because we went months and months where we really REALLY needed some alone time, then now that things are better around here everyone is taking the kids... lol oh well, who are we to complain!!!!! :-)

And on a totally different subject, this is SOOOO funny!! Dooce always cracks me up!

3x5s

Well, today was the first official day of the 3x5 cards and the girls each got a card or two. Now they are fighting over WHO GETS TO CLEAN MORE!! Yeah, that novelty is sure to wear off quickly!! LOL They are literally fighting over who gets to sweep more of the downstairs... its quite funny.

As for me, I cleaned the back door today. This may not seem like much, but lemme tell ya... I don't think its been as thoroughly cleaned as I cleaned it today! And we've only lived here for 5 years HAHA!!! The backdoor is a sliding glass door, and though the glass HAS been cleaned, it has never all been cleaned all at once. I am so proud HAHA!!!

I'm still feeling yucky. In fact, I got Syd off to school and laid back down (nothing new there) and then got up at 10:30, went in the living room with Charles and slept until 1. Yeah, that's not normal lol. He and I are both sick with colds, actually all 5 of us are feeling yucky. He took a vacation this week to get some things done around here, but we'll see if FFXI actually lets him off the couch........ :-)