Favourite Childhood Cartoon Meme

Okay, here are my 5 favourite cartoons that I watched as a kid:

1. Jem and the Rockers - a Barbie-type character, only much much cooler. She went by Jerrica during the day, and performed as Jem (the lead singer of Jem and the Rockers) by night. She also had the responsibilty of playing the heroine and fixing the problems caused by a rival chick band called the Misfits. Jerrica could communicate with this hologram named Synergy (I think...although my mind is pulling the name Dance from my memory bank as well) by pressing on her star-shaped earrings. In an emergency, Jerrica would have to disappear and morph ...a la Clark Kent/Superman style...into Jem to prevent some tragic disaster. The frequent disappearance confused the heck out of her sexy as hell but not too bright boyfriend. I think his name was Rico.
2. Gummi Bears - "Gummi Bears...bouncing here and there and everywhere..." I don't remember a whole lot about this cartoon other than there were a lot of little do-gooder bears who gained extra strength by drinking Gummi Berry Juice. There was a Grams bear, Grumpy Bear, and a little yellow bear with a funky hair do named Sunny.
3. My Little Ponies - Once again, the point/plot of this cartoon escapes my memory. I only remember something about a lot of fancy ponies with rainbow colored manes and tails. The girl in the cartoon was called Megan, and her personal pony's name was Sundance. I had the figurines of both of those along with several other ponies and the My Little Pony Stable/Castle.
4. Care Bears - Now this was a truly great cartoon. I'm so glad they have revived them and my daughters are now crazy about them. (In fact I'm in the middle of stitching a cross-stitch Care Bear picture to go in my soon-to-be-born daughter's room.) Each cartoon had a moral to teach and good always defeated evil in the end. The cast of characters include: Grumpy Bear, Cheer Bear, Friendship Bear, Good Luck Bear, Birthday Bear, Funshine Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Wish Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear, Share Bear, Grams, Baby Hugs and Baby Tugs (the boy and girl baby twin bears), and then of course all their Care Bear Cousins - Bright Heart Raccoon, Brave Heart Lion, Swift Heart Rabbit, and MANY more.
5. Rainbow Bright - Another unique character. The girl with the long blonde locks, a purple star on her cheek, and rainbow striped arms and legs. She had these little furry friends with star-shaped antennae called Sprites, and she frequently traveled on the back of a white stallion w/ a rainbow mane. Rainbow Bright and her colorful friends spent most of the episodes battling a villian whose name eludes me. The villian hated/feared color and tried to make the whole world all dark and gloomy. Rainbow and company's job was to restore color and cheerfulness. Yeah, sounds sappy...but as a 5 year old girl (future art student no less)...I thought it was the best!

Re: Meme - 5 Things You Miss About Your Childhood

Ok, since my girls are FINALLY taking their afternoon naps, I have a few minutes to respond to the meme I mentioned earlier. -A- tagged me with the question: "What 5 things do you miss most about your childhood?" So here goes.

1. I miss how safe our parents felt, allowing us to roam the neighborhood with all the other neighborhood kids unsupervised. Knowing and trusting that at least ONE of the other parents knew where we were or where we were headed at all times.

2. I miss the rare occasions when my grandparents had to pick me up from school because my mom was unavailable, and the excitement of knowing that when I opened the car door my grandfather would greet me with the phrase "this bus stops at the Dairy Queen."

3. I miss the excitement and nervousness of those few days before starting school after a long summer off, and shopping for that year's school supplies: the new spiral notebooks, scissors, trapper keepers, glue, and best of all, the smell of new CRAYOLA crayons with their unused perfect points.

4. I miss going outside to play as soon as the sun was up and not going in until the sun was going down: no worries about mosquitos and West Nile then. We'd spend all day making mud pies and mixing foul concoctions of berries, wild onions, leaves, water and acorns in a upside-down sawed off half-barrel, then stay out all evening playing frisbee with a glow-in-the-dark frisbee and chasing/catching lightening bugs.

5. But most of all I miss the innocence and carefree lifestyle that came with just being a kid -- Not having to worry about adult issues - taking for granted that there would be food on the table and a roof over my head tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...without having to think about how it got there; believing in Santa Claus and then being even more grateful later in life when I realized where all those gifts REALLY came from and the sacrifices that were made to provide them; just enjoying the egocentric world of a child where everything revolved around yourself and the biggest heartache was the breaking of a favourite toy, or outgrowing of a favourite outfit...not quite understanding emotional pain and suffering, or sickness and death... never loving so much that it physically hurt...never truly fearing for another person or attempting to take on superhuman traits to protect your loved ones from everything harmful. I guess as a mother of two (soon to be three) precious little girls and the wife of a husband I adore more than life itself...THAT is what I miss the most.

And now that I have dried my tears and restored the Kleenex to their rightfult position on the bathroom cabinet...I move my name to the bottom of the following list whose links I have added and will try to visit:

• http://luann919.blogspot.com
• http://marti2212.blogspot.com
• http://melslifeinanutshell.blogspot.com
• http://motherswork.blogspot.com
• http://craz4acop7.blogspot.com

AND, I pass the meme on to:

1. Birdie - http://blogs.salon.com/0003522
2. Ben & Syd - www.marriedinminnesota.com
3. Mike - http://blogs.salon.com/0004725
4. Redneck Diva - http://redneckdiva.blogspot.com
5. Heidi - http://www.heidimdavis.com/MoMMY.html

TAG! You're IT!

Carbon Cartoon Dating

Want to truly "date" yourself without revealing your age? Simple. Take a trip down memory lane and open a forum for the discussion of the cartoons you got up early to watch as a kid. Thanks to -A- 's lastest post, I have thus dated myself. Apparantly she and I have quite a bit in common. Which is nice actually. I can talk to someone else about the cartoons I watched as a kid. Can't talk to Alan about it. Being nearly 6 years older than myself, he was "too old" to watch the cartoons that I grew up with, and I didn't even exist when he was watching cartoons! LOL Most of his favourite cartoons and movies, superheros, and characters...I have never heard of. Oh well! :) SOooo...I'm starting a new meme. Name your 5 favourite cartoons that you watched as a kid and give a brief description or character listing of each! (No tag-backs!) I will post my own as soon as I respond to another meme. Yes, I have been tagged by -A-, who I am now tagging back...since technically, I have changed the meme! *evil laugh* :)

The Rules:

• Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place
• Add your blog's name in the #5 spot
• Link to each of the other blogs (if you want to increase their "traffic" and thus your own).
• Finally, add 5 new blogs/links to take part in the meme!

*Note: You will NOT be shot if you choose not to participate. :)

TAG! You're IT!

1. -A- http://motherswork.blogspot.com
2. Ben - www.marriedinminnesota.com
3. http://sillyoldbear.blogspot.com
4. Birdie - http://blogs.salon.com/0003522
5. Patia - http://www.patiastephens.com

Link Lineup

Hi Guys and Gals,
I have gone through my list of blogs and webpages that I link to and done some belated Spring cleaning. If I removed your link (probably in error), or you would like your link added, please let me know by dropping a note in the comment section. If you have any other good blogs to recommend, you may do that as well!!!
Thanks!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

I obtained this clever little blog filler from a link courtesy of Mike at Chew Toys

I Am a German Shepherd Puppy

Intelligent, quick witted, and a bit aggressive.You've got the jaw power to take a bite out of anyone you choose.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

Baby Mozart...Great! Baby Picasso? Not so Much!

The day started off in a nice calm..NORMAL manner. Cat woke up first and came and crawled in bed with me. Ash woke up about 15 minutes later, observed that her Daddy was working today, and decided she was hungry. So I get out of bed and go to the kitchen to make some strawberry and blueberry muffins. Yum! 15 minutes in the oven and they are done. Called Alan, he came by to grab a few. The girls were settled at the kitchen table eating muffins, munching on the remainder of the KIX cereal they started while the muffins were cooking, and drinking their milk. They were content. Everything was as it should be. I quickly ate two muffins and drained the last of my own milk from my glass. Then I started thinking. I guess that was my first mistake. "Surely," I thought "surely since they are SO content, I can take 5 minutes to throw on my clothes...and maybe even get to pee without their company if I'm quick." Ever the prevenative mom, I looked around the kitchen to double check things just in case. All the knives were out of reach, light sockets covered, dishes put away...no spillables around, cabinets locked with the child-safety locks, storm door latched, etc. I then proceeded to err on the side of caution and went down the landing into the den where I made sure the computer desk drawer was locked, the chair pushed up, the computer off, and the basket of pens WAY up high out of reach. Satisfied that the immediate area was childproof, I proceeded down the hall to my bedroom where I dressed and made that oh so necessary trip to the bathroom. As I finished up and headed towards the bedroom door on my return trip, a familar smell teased my nostrils. "Hmm...strange. I know that smell..." I thought to myself. "It smells...like...like...OH $^*&! It smells like MAGIC MARKER!!!!" I run down the hall and all I can do is stare in horror at my kitchen. My NEW KITCHEN that we have not even made the first payment on yet. My NEW KITCHEN that we have only been in possession of for less than a week. There was black marker all over the new fridge, the lineoleum floor, the cabinet doors, a portion of the wall, even on the air vent. Identifying the culprit was not difficult, because Ash too was covered...her hands, mouth, chin, legs, toes, and outfit. Oh, and not only was the marker black, it was one of those PERMANANT KING markers that we used to label boxes when we packed. I have no idea where she found it since I have not seen one since we moved. I grabbed the offending object and threw it straight into the trash can. My next and last rational thought for a while was to get the kids out of my line of view before I murdered them. So I angrily dispensed them to their separate rooms and slammed the door. Then I phoned Alan who after having seen the damage for himself couldn't understand how I ALLOWED that to happen. Gee...I guess I'm just supposed to cross my legs and hold it for 12 hours until he gets home to watch the girls while I pee. After the initial shock wore off he realized that it was, in fact, NOT my fault. He made a quick dash to Walmart in search of something that would take off this PERMANANT marker that is made to NOT come off. Hmmm. I should have taken before and after pictures...but at the time I was too mad to see straight. Anyway, thanks to a wonderful product aptly named "OOPS" and a bit of elbow grease, we managed to restore our kitchen to its former glory and both our kids are still alive. I can't wait until naptime!

"Sleepless in...Alabama?"

Well, I think all the excitement (aka..stress) of moving this week has finally caught up with me. I am exhausted. I can't seem to get enough sleep. I took a good nap when the girls' took theirs yesterday afternoon. I was so out of it I don't remember having conversations with people (my husband included) who swear that they talked to me on the phone which I don't remember having ever answered. Um..that's a little scary. I didn't sleep well last night at all though, and I'm paying for it now. I'm praying the time to go by until I can feed the girls their lunch and lay them down so I can crash out myself. Blasted hormones! I nearly froze Alan to death last night because I was burning up. I had the overhead fan on high, the air on, and all the covers kicked off and I was STILL sweating. I couldn't get comfortable. Alan was wrapped up in the discarded covers, sleeping like a hibernating bear while I tossed and turned all night. No..I'm not bitter. LOL Maybe just a little envious. I'm about to the point in my pregnancy where I will get better quality sleep catching a nap here and there during the day than I will when I settle down for the night. Wonderful. I've really been looking forward to getting up in the middle of the night and cleaning house and folding laundry. *note the sarcasm, please.*

Missing in Action

There was another amusing incident that occurred today. My Avon order which I usually receive on Friday had been missing in action until it finally decided to show up this morning. I had left instructions with UPS when I changed our mailing address to have all packages left by the side door under the breezeway where they wouldn't get soaked if it rained. It never occurred to me exactly HOW close to the breezeway the fenced in backyard is. At least not until I was about to get the laundry out of the dryer this morning when I heard an awful shriek followed by ferocious barking. Naturally I ran to the backdoor to see what in the world was going on. I got there just in time to see my Avon order (two nice sized boxes) flying through the air to land haphazardly on my doorstep, and the rear view of a quickly retreating UPS delivery-lady. Apparantly she and our German Shepherd who resides in the back yard startled each other. I laughed until tears came out of my eyes. I bet that poor UPS girl was glad her uniform was already brown. *chuckling*.

Laughing at the Little Things

Since Alan is at work, I'm just kinda taking it easy around the house. I can't unpack much unless what I need is ontop of the pile because I'm not allowed to lift or move the boxes. Anyway, I'm just doing the little things...laundry, dishes...vacuuming the carpets (which strangely I'm enjoying). When we moved and set up the girls' rooms, we moved our almost two-year old, Ash, into a regular twin bed and out of the baby bed. We put one of the safety rails up to keep her from falling out, but there is still about a one foot gap at the head and foot of the bed where she can crawl in and out. So now rather than me coming to get her out of bed in the mornings when I wake up, she comes to get me. (Her sister, Cat, usually sleeps about an hour longer than Ash does). This morning I was sleeping deeply, having fallen back asleep after Alan got up to leave around 5 am, when all of the sudden I feel a tug on my hair. I grab it and pull back thinking it must have gotten caught on something (what exactly, I don't know...but then I'm never really rational when I'm asleep.) Then it happened again -- only this time the tug was accompanied by a tiny little voice. "Mommy...wake up. Peeezze...I hungy." I opened my eyes to find Ash standing there all fuzzy headed and bright-eyed, holding a fist-full of my hair...apparantly ready for breakfast. I got up and baked strawberry muffins and sat down with her to eat. She chattered happily the entire time we were sitting there. Alan came in to grab a quick bite, and she was singing when he walked in the door. Of course you could only understand about every third word, but it was SO cute. He asked her what she was singing and she said "Shunshine." You know..the one that goes "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine...." Then after her sister woke up and joined us, Cat would name an animal and Ash would immediate chime in with the appropriate noise. It just cracked me up!

Home Sweet Home

Well, we survived...thanks to some REALLY great friends who not only helped us move, but helped us paint, bought us dinner, and cut the grass at the old house and helped us clean it out before we turned in the keys. Let me just say that I am LOVING the new house. Even with all the huge boxes sitting around and getting in the way. We spent the first night in our new house on Wednesday. Fortunatly we had the presense of mind to get the beds unpacked and reassembled first. We climbed into bed on Wednesday night and Alan and I had the same thought. It felt like we were staying in a hotel suite or at someone else's home. It was great. (Only way it could have been better is if he and I hadn't both been so dead-tired!...LOL) ANYWAY...it took us until Saturday to completely get all of our stuff out of the other house. I haven't felt very well the past two days. Apparantly I overdid this week because I started having contractions Saturday afternoon, and I'm only 22 weeks. (23 tomorrow). I was more than a little worried, but Alan brought me home and literally put me to bed and would not let me lift a finger. Our friends finished helping him clean out the old house and brought us dinner Saturday night. We all slept in on Sunday, and I got most of the kitchen stuff unpacked. There are still about 6 huge boxes in there...but at least I have found enough plates, bowls, cups etc. for us to use in the meantime, and I've managed to get all the "pantry food" put away. Alan went back to work for the first time in a week today. I miss him. I'm not feeling well today either. Kinda nauseous. Did not accomplish a whole lot today. Oh well. We have all the time in the world now. As long as we can eat, sleep, and shower...I'm not in a HUGE hurry. It's getting increasingly difficult to manage things by myself and this pregnancy gets further along. Thank you all for the kind comment. Alan just walked in the door so I'm going to cut this short and go find him. *Hugs to all!*

Movin' on Up

Well Guys and Gals,
You may not see a post on this blog for a little while. I've got to un-assemble my computer set up sometime tomorrow or Tuesday so that I can move it along with ourselves and all our other wordly possessions to our new home! Hurray! It's about time. I feel like I have been waiting forever. Granted, it's a lot of work. Especially considering that I'm 5 months pregnant and can't really lift anything. I packed ALL the boxes though. Just had to leave them sitting in the floor until Alan got home to move them out of the way. We're trying to move across town without having to rent a Uhaul truck. Thank God for good friends and Southern gents. We'll have about 6 guys with pickup trucks on our doorstep ready to help us relocate on Wednesday morning. Another friend has to work but is lending Alan his truck and trailor. Hopefully we can move everything in one day. Then I'll just be the rest of the month unpacking and organizing. Since I can't physically move anything I guess I will be pointing and directing. Oh, and I have to get ready for the HUGE moving/yard sale I'm having at the end of the week. There is a lot of furniture and other stuff that we didn't want to move to the new house, so a friend gave me the idea to have a huge moving/yard sale indoors in the old house while it's empty before we hand over the keys. Everything that we don't sell will be swept off to various local charities. I'm hoping to make enough money to buy a new computer desk and a few other things we'll need. *Ahem* Like a new vacuum cleaner, since my sister-in-law borrowed mine and blew it up. Don't ask..I'm not even sure I know how it happened. Oh well. Wish us luck and I will be back soon. (I hope.)

Circle of Life

Continuing with my "this has been a really difficult week" theme, we had to attend a funeral Sunday afternoon. Funerals in general are not typically pleasant experiences, but this one was made more tragic because it was to honor the life and mourn the death of a child. A six month old baby to be exact. Although my husband and I are not extremely close to the particular members of the family, familial duty saw to it that we attend - which we did. The saddest thing to me...other than seeing that tiny white coffin...was seeing the childs' other brothers and sisters. He was one of a set of quintuplets who seemed to take on all the illnesses and problems that preemies sometimes experience in order to spare the other four any hardships. He never breathed "room air" on his own, experienced multiple surgeries, and never got to leave the hospital. The poor little guy had just taken all he could. The comfort is in knowing that God has another little angel by His side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paying Respect

I want to share with anyone who might read this, an email that was forwarded to me today by a family member. It was sent to her by a friend who had just attended a military funeral for one of "our boys" who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. What follows are her words...and then eventually several pictures taken. I will not comment further as I don't feel it is necessary. I hope this touches you as it did me.


" It can be argued, perhaps, the reasons we're in Iraq, but we cannot forget it is the nation's young people who are stepping up and going over there to do what they see as their patriotic duty. I could only wish that every college and high school kid, and some of the parents, would see this outpouring of respect for this fallen soldier. In my few 33 years on this planet it has been made clear to me that the best diplomat in the world, with few exceptions, has been the American GI. There's things wrong in America, but there sure as hell is a lot more that is right. Sometimes we forget that there is a huge price that has been paid for all the freedoms we enjoy and cherish in this country. Of course as many of you know I am a full blooded Texan and feel that we are the best state in the union, so the following story has to do with Texas. P.S. don’t know if the stat is true, but it has been sad that Texas has more of its boys in the military than the next 12 states combined. GOD BLESS TEXAS!

People can talk about Texas all they want, but this has renewed my faith in mankind. God bless America.
At least they give some respect for a soldier who has died. God bless them. Take a look at these pictures."

Amos and Abby 

The 4-legged Loves of our Lives....are Gone.

It has been a very difficult week. That my friends, is an understatement. I don't even know how to begin to write this post as I am so tired. Not physically, though I am a bit of that as well. Mainly though, I am just emotionally drained. My blood-pressure, I feel certain, has risen with our stress levels this week and though I have MANY things I need to be doing...I'm finding it an effort just to get out of bed and get dressed in the morning. Friday saw us driving about 3+ hours to Chattanooga, Tennessee where we made one of the most difficult transitions of our lives. We gave up our two precious puppies (our miniature dachshunds) two their new adoptive family. You can't even begin to imagine how difficult a decision that was for us. We have had Amos (a 5 year old male) since Alan and I were married. In fact, he was my wedding gift from Alan. I raised him, carried him in the pocket of my bathrobe when he was a tiny puppy, slept with him in my bed each night...loved him. Abby (the female) was only 8 months old. We have had her since January when my husband brought her home from work one day to "save" her and give her a home. She was a joy to wake up to each morning (as she also shared our bed). She is such an animated little pup...full of love. We had nick-named her "cartoon" because she just had that sweet, funny, unpredictable nature. Unfortunatly, she wasn't fully potty trained as her previous owner was an elderly lady unable to care for her. And though we were making progress, with packing for our move, our two children and the pending birth of our third, I also was unable to devote enough time to the task. Plus, as she was nearing a year old and Amos had not been fixed...we were looking at either choosing to breed them or having them both spayed/neutered and financially we couldn't afford to right now with everything else going on. Then too, we are moving into a new, fully-carpeted house. Right now we live in a house with all hardwood floors where accidents aren't such a catastrophe. In August my oldest daughter starts kindergarten. In October the new baby will be born. Basically it just came down to our love for the pups and our desire to give them the quality of life that we could no longer provide. They went to the home of an older couple who coincidentally already had two mini doxies. Their children are all grown, and they are completely devoted to their pups who have become their new kids. Someone is home with them at all times, they will still be allowed to sleep in the beds with their new owners, and the couple has a two-acre fenced in backyard that they will be able to play in (supervised of course.) I have heard from their "mom" and she is already planning their first vet trip for this years' shots and preventative meds. They are adjusting well. Probably a lot better than we are. We are going to be glad to be out of this house soon, because it's difficult to be here expecting to see them bounding around the corner at any moment...only to remember that they are gone. Our only consolation is knowing that we did what was best for them, and that they will be happy. To us they will never age, never suffer, never die. In our memories they will always be as they were last...healthy happy pups with their full lives ahead of them.

I Won! I Won!

Yep, little ole me who never wins anything can now claim fame as the co-winner of an original "Avon Haiku Contest" hosted by Birdie on her blog at http://blogs.salon.com/0003522/. In honor of May 7th, 2005 which as you will notice has the same numerical value as a haiku's syllables (5-7-5), Birdie posted a contest for all her readers, promising a box of Avon goodies to the one who could come up with the best Avon related haiku. To my surprise when I visited her blog today, I discovered that I shared the honor of that title with another fellow reader. Below is my "winning" entry:

Heard that Bust-Sculpt cream,
Has been used on men's *ahem* parts.
Wonder if it worked?

*** Interestingly enough, that haiku is derived from a true story told by a fellow Avon lady at one of our local sales meetings. Scary thought, huh? ***

Think Pink!

Yep...

It's a GIRL!!!!

Looks like that Chinese calendar was right after all. We don't have any names picked out yet. I like uncommon names and I'm having a hard time with this one. I need something that will go well with our other two daughter's names:

Caitlyn Ainsley and Ashlyn McKennah

Suggestions are MORE than welcomed, as Alan and I only have four and a half months to agree on something (and trust me that's no easy task!)

Ps. Ben...if it was right for you too then that means you and Syd are expecting a boy right?
Pps. A - the Chinese calendar was right for all three of my pregnancies....so congrats girl! ;)

Pink or Blue...Care to Guess?

Well friends, tomorrow at 2:00 pm, Alan and I go to my doctor's office in the hospital (we usually go to our local clinic for regular visits) for the ultrasound which will tell us -- among numerous other things -- the gender of our third child. Care to hazard a guess? I'm not sure I can. Based on previous history, I would guess a girl, since we already have two daughters. At the same time, my pregnancies with those two daughters were nearly identical. I didn't have QUITE as much morning sickness with the second as the first...but all-in-all, I was still pretty "green." This pregnancy, however, has been nothing like my first two which would lead me to guess that perhaps it is a boy. It's weird really. I have no instinctive feelings one way or the other this time. I KNEW with my first two that they were both girls. In fact, I even dreamed exactly what they would look like before they were born. I knew that Cat would have dark hair, dark eyes (eventually of course) and her daddy's dimples. Just like I dreamed that my second daughter would have blonde, curly hair...and her daddy's dimples. And so they both do. With this baby though, even my poor dreams are confused. The first time I dreamed about the baby, I dreamed it was a girl. Then the second time I dreamed it was a boy, and a few nights ago... I dreamed we had fraternal twins...one boy and one girl. (Heaven forbid..LOL). Oh well. I guess we'll know soon enough. Last chance to get your vote in before the mystery is (hopefully) revealed. :)

Wish us luck and send your prayers please.

Going out with a "bang!"
As you may have guessed, Alan and I enjoyed our night out at the ballfield. The weather was great, the view was excellent, and best of all... the Braves beat the Astros with a final score of 4-1! And at least the Astros participated in the game. The next night the Braves slaughtered them 16-0! I'm not sure that would have been too fun to watch in person. I kind prefer to watch a game where both teams actually show up and there is a little bit of a competition! The only part of the night that wasn't pleasant was the way they routed the traffic leaving the ballpark out of Atantla. They wouldn't let us go the direction we needed to go in. Instead we ended up on US 75 which took us about 45 minutes longer to get home! Oh well. It was still a great night out, and a much needed one at that. Now...back to packing! :)

Got the job done w/ bases loaded in the 9th! 

Final Score 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Well, tomorrow is May 7th and tomorrow night Alan and I will be going to the Braves game. The Atlanta Braves play the Houston Astros tomorrow night in Atlanta at 7:35. I am looking forward to going for several reasons. One being the fact that I adore baseball -- pretty much any kind. MLB, college, Minor League...doesn't matter. I can almost always get into the game. I also have quite an impressive baseball card collection, though I have to admit I don't have any recent additions. Probably the "newest" card I have is a 2002. I just don't have time to keep up with stuff. Though occasionally I do buy a factory sealed complete set as a gift for Alan. I like to be able to buy two though. One to leave sealed, and one to dig through. :) Anyway, the other reason I'm looking forward to the game is because it's the first "date night" Alan and I have had without the kids in....um....geez...I guess since I bought him tickets for his birthday LAST YEAR! The only other time we have been together without the kids was in the hospital the few hours before our second daughter was born. Of course technically we WILL have ONE of the kids with us. LOL But at least this one is pretty obscure, and lacks the capability of hollering "mommy, mommy, mommy!!!" every five minutes. Though it does squirm every once in a while just to remind me it's there. (Not that my Chinese food eating, feet swelling, and having to pee every five minutes body is likely to forget.) I bought a parking pass when I ordered the tickets so we won't have to walk five miles to get to the stadium. AND we are sitting in the Lexus level which is an upgrade from last year's seats. I just hope I can sit back, relax, and enjoy the game without worrying about the kids and whether or not they have tortured and tormented the poor babysitter. Did I mention she will be keeping them from 3:00 pm until around midnight?

A Hectic Schedule

Geez, when it rains it pours. Not that I am complaining..not really. I am very pleased with most of the things I'm having to schedule time for these days. It's just that I feel like I need a calendar to remind me when to look at the calendar I have written everything on. Or that I must consult that calendar before making any plans...appointments...dinners...or even brief trips to the bathroom. I have to schedule in my showers these days. We are supposed to close on our new home sometime between the 29th of this month and the 14th of May. Cat has story-time every other Tuesday. I have Avon orders to enter every other Wednesday. Then I have to package everything up when it comes in every other Friday and then call all my customers and make arrangements to deliver their products. (Some as far away as an hour drive). Alan's softball season starts this week which means he will be rushing home from work expecting dinner (something light and easy on the stomach please) to be ready when he gets home at 6:00 so that he can be at the softball field by 7:00 for his game at 7:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. May 7th Alan has a written exam as a prerequisite to an interview with another law enforcement municipality. Then that night we have to be in Atlanta by 6:30 for the Braves game that starts at 7:35. (I bought Alan two tickets for his birthday). May 9th is my grandmother's birthday. May 11th we have to go to the hospital where baby#3 will be born to have an ultrasound done to determine baby's size and whether baby will be daughter #3 or son #1. Then the next day Alan is having his wisdom teeth cut out, which at the age of 31 is NOT going to be a pleasant experience. It was hell when I had mine done at 16. This will put him out of work and on the couch for about a week on a liquid/mush/jello diet which is not going to be a day at the beach for either of us. Especially with 3 and 1 running around wondering why daddy looks like a chipmunk that lost a good fist-fight. *sigh* AND somewhere in the midst of all that drama, I have to find time to pack up everything in our house except for the daily essentials that we need to survive between now and then end of June when, HOPEFULLY we will be living in, or at the very least moving into, our new house. And in the middle of the moving Alan and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary on June 23rd, and hopefully we will be settled, unpacked, and content in time for me to plan the girls' birthdays in July. "3" will be turning 4 on July 20th and "1" will be turning "2" on the 10th. By this time I will be close to seven month pregnant with "baby #3" and thouroughly exhausted as well. Then I get to look forward to getting up at 6:00 every morning and waking 4 and 2 up, throwing clothes on them, shoving a bag of cheerios and a cup of milk at them as I strap them into the car on the way to take "4" to kindergarten. She starts in August. Oh God...I'm tired already. See you guys later. I'm going to take a nap!

A Tisket, a Tasket...How 'Bout a Gift Basket?

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have started selling custom-made Avon gift baskets for men, women, and children. If you know of anyone who is looking for gift baskets for Mother's Day, Father's Day or any other event...I can create various multi-piece gift baskets at different price ranges. The smallest Bath&Body/Fragrance basket I have put together so far was about $15.00 and had about 4 pieces. However, if you give me a price range I can usually create something lovely to meet your specific needs. I just let the customer tell me what product line he/she would like to use and then I can quote sizes and prices. Favorites so far have been the Naturals: Peach, Vanilla, or Cucumber Melon, Skin-So-Soft, ProSport for Men, and Mark. Hollywood Pink Chocolate or Garden Blu. I also do "Beauty Baskets" with color (make-up) in them. A complete make-over kit. They are usually $20.00 or less as well, depending on how many pieces are involved. Avon has a wide-range of products available to make gift baskets for all occasions, including but not limited to:

• Baby Showers
• Bridal Showers
• Sweet Sixteen Parties
• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Thank You's
• Housewarmings
• Graduation
• Teacher Gifts
• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
• All Major Holidays, etc.

You tell me your favourite Avon products, your desired price range, or simply tell me a little bit about the person who will be receiving the gift; and I can create a beautiful customized gift basket for you to deliver to that special someone in your life. All I need is at least two week's notice so that I will have time to order any products needed that I don't have in stock. With enough notice, and a reasonable shipping fee, I can also ship baskets either to you, or to the gift recipient directly. Please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested (or to anyone whom you would like to have a basket created for YOU! *hint* *hint* ) Thank you for your time, and God Bless!

*** Thanks guys for putting up with my shameless plugging of my business. Things have been lacking here lately at a time when the extra income would be greatly appreciated. Especially with the new house and new baby coming up quickly! I will try to post pics of some of the baskets I have done soon to give you an idea of what they look like. You can always visit Dawn for her input, at http://overactiveimagination.blogspot.com as she was the recipient of two of my Christmas gift baskets this past holiday season. I am currently working on two 8-piece Skin-so-Soft baskets (one Light & Lush and one Soft & Sensual) for a local Real Estate company. Each one includes: a shower gel, hand cream, body lotion, body buffer, foam bath, bar soap, roll-on deodorant, and bath puffy. I will try to post pics when I'm done with them. ***

And the Cow Says.... MOOooooo

Okay, so did you ever have one of those days where no matter how many outfits you drag out of your closet, shake the wrinkles out of, and throw over your head...absolutly nothing looks or fits right? I'm usually pretty easy-going when it comes to what I'm wearing...I don't spend a lot of time stressing over "the perfect outfit." All I ask is to A) look my age, B) look my size, and C) be comfortable in what I'm wearing. I really don't think that is too much to ask from the clothes that I probably paid too much for in the first blinkin' place. Now if only things actually worked out that way. Of course, being pregnant hasn't helped my wardrobe out much either. In case you haven't noticed...maternity clothes...the good ones that don't look like they were made by Omar the Tent-Maker... are expensive. Then if you've been fortunate enough to experience more than one pregnancy...you probably don't want to wear the same maternity clothes the second (or third) time around that you did the first or second time. Generally by the time that 9 months is over, most women are so sick of maternity clothes they want to burn them. Most of us suffice to pass them along to a friend or make a nice charitable donation to Goodwill or a women's shelter. Anyway, my point is that I am once again forced to wear maternity clothes, and being that this is my third (and last) pregnancy, I don't want to go out and spend a fortune on a wardrobe that I'm going to wear for 9 months and then want to see go up in smoke. I bought two new pair of long pants in basic black and khaki, and acquired a pair of denim shorts and black capri's from a friend. I have several t-shirt type tops that are fine for lounging around the house in, but as far as dressing for dinner, or doctor's appointments, or just going "out" in general I only have two shirts that fit the bill. I prefer the kind that tie in back...more adjustable and figure flattering (if that's even a possibility at this point). LOL I did order two more tops today that should be here by Friday...thank God! Okay, now I will get to the "punchline" of this whole background segment.

I was getting ready to go out to dinner with friends one night last week and I had on a my khaki pants. Well.. the peasant-type blouse I normally wear with those pants was in the washing machine, soaking wet. So my only other option was this almost sleeveless black and white print toile blouse. I put it on and made the mistake of facing the mirror (full-length mind you). Completely irritated, feeling nauseous, and thouroughly disgusted by this point I loudly exclaimed "I look like a big freakin' cow!" and ripped the shirt off while I stormed around looking for SOMETHING more suitable.

I survived the ordeal and the next day, while I was digging in my closet I found that pair of black capri pants that my friend had passed along to me. Well, I put the same black and white toile shirt on with those pants and it actually looked pretty nice! I was pleased....that is...until I walked out of my bedroom and down the hall. Upon seeing me, my three year old immediately looks shocked and says... "but MOMMY...I thought you didn't WANT to be a cow!!!" (Thanks a lot.) But then...I guess I had that one coming. However..I was totally unprepared for the reaction of my 18 month old. She had been asleep during all the excitement the night before and was clueless to any of the previous drama that had unfolded. So imagine my shock when I went to her room to get her...and she waddles up to the baby gate to greet me...not with a smile...not with a mama....but with a large, enthusiastic..... MOOOOOOoooooo. That was it. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed!

One Step Forward...

Well, we heard from our mortgage broker today and the "underwriting" on our loan is being processed and we should have it in our hands no later than Friday of this week. After that the next step is to contact our lawyer and arrange a meeting for him to litigate the actual "closing" of the sale. Which means that there are some documents that will have to be sent to his office beforehand such as the "termite bond" and our proof of insurance, etc. I'm fuzzy on all the details myself. I will just be glad when everything is finalized and this part of our journey is over. I'm actually kinda looking forward to the move. I packed my first box today. Of course it wasn't much since I'm not allowed to do a whole lot by myself right now. But I took down all the pictures on the walls and collected all my framed photos off the mantel and packed them neatly away for future transfer. I guess I will attack my Precious Moments collection next. I probably have about 50 pieces that need to be taken down, dusted, and carefully bubble-wrapped and repacked in their orignial boxes. Since we are not sure yet if we will be closing at the end of this month or the next then I don't know how long I have to actually pack for the move. I decided it was probably safe to go ahead and start packing away all the decorative things, and seasonal stuff that we don't use everyday. Of course if we are going to be closing in three weeks or less I will really have to get my butt in gear! LOL

Sorry for the Neglect

Okay...here is my first post (thanks to Joy who emailed me to see if I had fallen in a hole... lol ) following a long time of neglect for which I am offering a sincere apology. The truth is, I've been so busy that I completely forgot that I even HAD a blog! How bad is that? We are in the process of buying our first home (we currently rent), and dealing with Realtors and our financial company on a daily basis, on top of keeping up with my three year old and 18 month old...accompanied by my being nearly 4 months pregnant now has been...um...EXHAUSTING to say the least! :) Things are going well though. So far baby and I are both healthy. We should find out baby's gender about this time next month. As for the house-hunting, we have put a contract down on a nice 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom home that is just perfect for us. The contract has been signed by the owners and returned to us. Our financing has been approved, so now we are just waiting on the papers we need to get here so that we can head to the lawyer's office for closing. We hope to start moving in by June 1st. God knows it's going to take me the next two months to get everything packed up. I've never attempted a move during a pregnancy before and I'm sure it will be a challenge. Especially when you consider that I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than 5-10 lbs, stand on chairs or step-stools, or reach above my head. Fortunatly several friends have volunteered some help so I guess I'll pack boxes, tape 'em, and point to where they go! (While trying to refrain from packing my kiddies up in one too! LOL) Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm sure there is one...a light...somewhere....way..way...down the long, deep, dark, dank tunnel of pregnancy. I obviously just haven't traveled far enough yet. Though I will admit that the dark is not quite so consuming and I'm starting to be able to see shadows. LOL Some of my energy is starting to return though I still have to take a nap when the girls take theirs after lunch. Most of the time they end up getting up before I do and I'm faced with the bright chipper chatter of an excited three year old as she tells me all kinds of wild stories while I sit up and try to clear the cobwebs out of my brain and the drool off my pillow. For some reason I don't sleep well at night...but am unconcious when I nap during the day. I am increasinly proud of the way I have "managed" my morning sickness this go 'round. Of course I have a wonderfully attentive husband who brings me buttered toast and a glass of milk for breakfast each morning before I get out of the bed. I let that settle on my tummy before trying to get up and then as long as I eat frequently and don't allow myself to get hungry...I feel fine. (Unless of course I see or smell something yucky -- in which case it's no holds barred...all over). One thing we have definately decided is that there is just not enough room in the house that we are currently living in. Not enough room for the four of us and heaven knows where we are going to put this new baby when it arrives if we are still in the same house. Alan and I made an appointment with a Realtor in our family to go look at a couple of houses yesterday. I learned one thing...like a book...you can't judge a house by it's exterior. The one we thought we would love at first glance...turned out to be incredibly small with a lot of "wasted" space on the inside. The one we were unsure of turned out to be HUGE on the inside (compared to what we are in now, of course.) It had four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a spacious kitchen WITH A DISHWASHER, a good sized laundry room with lots of shelving and cabinets...a room that could easily be converted to an office, a screened in deck, and an unfinished "half basement" for storage. I was impressed. Granted it needs a lot of cosmetic work...ie. new interior paint throughout the whole house, new carpet in two rooms and new linoleum or tile in the kitchen....the work would be minor and well worth it, if we are able to make (and more importantly...get financing) for an offer that the owners would accept. I'm not getting my hopes up or holding my breath....but it wouldn't hurt if you'd cross your fingers and say a little prayer for us!

In the famous words of Kermit the Frog...

... "It's not easy being green." Alan and I just found out that we are expecting our third child in October. Somewhere around the 11th to be exact. Which means that as I type this I am 7 1/2 weeks pregnant and trust me..I'm feeling it. I threw up for the first time today though I have been nauseous 24/7 for well over a week. I hate throwing up, but then I guess I don't know anyone who really enjoys it. The good news is that I am experiencing MUCH LESS morning sickness with this baby than I did with both of my daughters. With the first one I was sick 24/7 for about 5 months to the point where the Dr. was worried about my weight gain...or should I say lack thereof. With the second one it was a little better...but I still wanted to paint a face in the bottom of the toilet for company. And let's not even talk about food cravings! OMG! I knew I was pregnant again when I found myself craving asparagus casserole in the car one afternoon. I'm really not all that crazy about the stuff on a normal day! LOL With my girls, I craved bland foods...pastas with a good cream-based sauce, and fresh fruits and veggies. NOT THIS TIME! Oh no...in the past several days I have scarfed down chili cheese dogs with extra onions, chinese food, mexican food, anything spicy with strong flavor. Right now I could really go for some Tostidos scoops and hot bowl of Velveeta and Rotel dip! So what do you think? boy or girl?

Monkey in the Middle

I am in the process of "cleaning up" my links on my sidebar. Trying to delete some old links that are no longer in service, and am looking for some fresh new blogs to add. In the middle of all my craziness that is going on this month with work, family, etc., I am trying to uphold my duty as a blogger. LOL ! So if you wish to be one of the "monkeys in the middle" of my crazy life and I haven't added a link to your blog on my site yet...leave a comment or zap me an email and I'll get to it asap. Thanks to all who frequent this little neighborhood.

Love to all!

It's Been a While

Geez, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had last posted on this thing. I am constantly busy with my ever-growing Avon business. Partly my sales...but more, the administrative work I have taken on as an assistant to my DSM. I'm really enjoying the relationships I have formed by participating. There have been changed in my personal life as well. I am still debating whether or not to post about these changes as I'm not sure whether or not any of my family actually reads or knows about this blog. I have a feeling that my Aunt J...possibly may read...but I'm pretty sure no one else does. The few relatives that may be reading, I wouldn't mind knowing what I post. But then I don't know how effective it would be to "yell" : IF YOU ARE RELATED TO ME AND READ THIS BLOG...EMAIL ME OR POST A COMMENT PLEASE?!?! Guess I'll give it a shot and find out. Haha! Anyway, per Dawn's request, here are my answers to the latest "quiz" circulating through the blog world.

Love to All!

1. Your name spelled backwards: anad (and don't call me that...an ex boyfriend used to and I hated it then)
2. Where were your parents born? both in my hometown (central Alabama)
3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? all the faxes my DSM sent me
4. What's your favorite restaurant? Sol Azteca
5. Last time you swam in a pool? This past summer in my husband's aunt's backyard.
6. Have you ever been in a school play? In elementary school.
7. How many kids do you want? Um...I have two but I had better answer 3
8. Type of music you dislike most? Any with lyrics that are violent or disrespectful to women
9. Are you registered to vote? Yes
10. Do you have cable? No, we have Dish Network (satelite) and LOVE IT!
11. Have you ever ridden on a moped? Yes
12. Ever prank call anybody? Nope
13. Ever get a parking ticket? Again..nope
14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? Can I get a HELL NO!?!?
15. Farthest place you ever traveled? Wisconsin
16. Do you have a garden? Not right this minute but I will have a patio garden this summer. I learned that I can grow tomatoes and green peppers in pots, and can train cucumbers to grow along the rails of my front steps. LOL
17. What is your favorite comic strip? For better or worse.
18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Yes
19. Bath or Shower, morning or night? Showers in the morning and baths at night (unless I have company)
20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? Van Helsing
21. Favorite pizza toppings? Ham and Pineapple
22. Chips or popcorn? Popcorn
23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? Sienna (a red/coral) or Twig (a nude brown/pink)
24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? Um...somebody wanna explain this one? LOL
25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? once again...can I get a HELL NO?
26. Orange Juice or apple? both
27. Favorite type of chocolate bar? Plain Hershey's or Hershey's w/ Almonds
28 When was the last time you voted at the polls? "This past election, when the best man won." (Dawn's answer) AMEN sistah!
29. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? last summer
30. Have you ever won a trophy? Yes, for Tennis
31. Are you a good cook? GREAT cook.
32. Do you know how to pump your own gas? sure...don't like to...but better than walking
33. Ever order an article from an infomercial? No, but I shop via internet ALL the time!
34. Sprite or 7-up? Neither...YUCK! I'll take a Pepsi, Cherry Coke, or Dr. Pepper please.
35. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work? No.
36. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy? Elidel for my baby's eczema
37. Ever throw up in public? Only during pregnancies
38. Would you prefer being a millionaire or to find true love? I married my true love and we'll both take the money..thanks!
39. Do you believe in love at first sight? Sight? No...conversation, first date, first kiss...YES! Been there...married that.
40. Ever call a 1-900 number? No, but when I was a pre-teenager it was a joke to dial 1-800-FAT GIRLS just so you could listen to the stupid "hook line" to get you to call the 1-900 number. It was a decent prank to use on friends. "Here...Matt...telephone for you" (after having dialed)
41. Can exes be friends? Only on rare occasions and only if you were already good friends before you dated.
42. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital? My grandfather who I'm happy to say is home and well!
43. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby? LOTS of dark brown hair that stuck out in all directions and would NOT lay down despite my mom's best efforts.
44. What message is on your answering machine? No machine on home phone...but my cell phone voice mail says..."It's me...leave a message...BEEP"
45. What is in your backpack? Avon brochures, business cards, samples, consultation sheets, planning reports, etc.
46. Favorite thing to do before bedtime? Take a long bath, read blogs and catch up on emails, read a novel...enjoy my "me" time after the kids are in bed.
47. What is one thing you are grateful for today? My husband, my children and my friends (both on-line and off) who have all been and continue to be incredibly supportive! Thanks guys!
48. What is the first concert you ever went to? Newsboys with my then fiancee ...an overnight trip to Huntsville. Thought my parents wouldn't let me go but they didn't try to stop me or say anything negative. Really appreciated the trust!

Prayers for Peace

While you are keeping soldiers in your hearts and thoughts...please keeps the everyday soldiers - police officers - in your prayers as well. While they don't face the same threat as those in Iraq, they risk their lives daily and in many cases are not as well armed or prepared for the circumstances they come up against. Because of such low pay-rates, many police officers (including three in my own small town who I know personally) are opting to leave wives and children behind in order to go to Iraq and train the Iraqi police forces. Yes...if they survive they will bring back large sums of money to their families; but for the most part, they are trained in one-on-one encounters...street fighting...not the kind of combat they will face upon arrival. Please keep these brave men in your throughts and prayers as well. I apologize for the lengthy comment, but this is a subject near and dear to my heart...you see..my husband is a police officer. While he remains state-side...he and the other officers who chose to stay, not only have to deal with the worry and fear for their fellow officers in Iraq, they also have to work double-duty covering the shifts and filling the positions that were left behind. Long hours...low pay...lots of stress.

Help for Tsunami Victims

During this horrible time of tragedy, many good hearted citizens around the world want to do something...anything...they can to help. The problem? Many of these wonderful people are being scammed through false charities and organizations. Still want to help but don't know how? Here's a great way through a highly reputable company...AVON.

Right now I am selling the beautiful "Heart of Asia" lapel pin. Avon will donate $3.00 from the proceedes of each sale (the total price of the pin is only $4.00) to the Avon Foundation to support relief and rebuilding efforts in the countries affected by the tsunami disaster. Support will be directed to long-term aid organizations such as the American Red Cross and UNICEF, which provide medical care, shelter, food distribution, education for children, and help in reuniting families and creating stronger communities. "The Avon Foundation has been a philanthropic leader for 50 years and has provided thoughtful and effective support in emergency relief efforts worldwide."

If you are interested in purchasing this beautiful pin to support those affected by the tsunami, please contact me. Post a message here, email me, or visit my Avon website at the link in my sidebar.

Heart of Asia Pin



Here are a few other major (REPUTABLE) agencies accepting contributions:

AMERICAN RED CROSS
International Response Fund
PO Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
1-800-HELP-NOW (435-7669)
www.redcross.org

AMERICARES
88 Hamilton Avenue
Stamford, CT 06902
1-800-486-4357
www.americares.org

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
Tsunami Emergency
PO Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
www.catholicrelief.org

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
PO Box 1856
Merrifield, VA 22116-8056
1-888-392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Attn: Tsunami Relief
333 East 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
1-800-4-UNICEF (486-4233)
www.unicefusa.org

World Food Program
US Friends of the WFP
PO Box 11856
Washington, DC 20008
www.wfp.org/donate

"The Power of 3"

Not exactly what the gurus at Avon had in mind...but I thought it would be fun. Here's a quiz I have "borrowed" from Stuck. Copy it and fill in your own answers if you want. :)

Three Things Quiz

3 names you go by:
1. Mrs. Mole
2. Mommy Bear
3. 'Rose

3 screen names you have:
1. Craz4acop7
2. Englishrose
3. Rosalind19

3 things you like about yourself:
1. my eyes
2. my personality...sometimes I'm a smartass but that's the way I like it
3. my craftiness...literally...I love crafts!

3 things you hate/dislike about yourself:
1. I get bored easily
2. I love food and am always hungry
3. I tend to be bossy at times

3 Parts of your Heritage:
1. Irish
2. Scottish
3.

3 things that scare you:
1. storms
2. being away from my husband/children
3. that some of my loved ones are not saved

3 of your everyday essentials:
1. my computer
2. my telephone
3. books

3 things you're wearing right now:
1. my new matching lingerie set that husband gave me for Christmas
2. mint green sweater
3. khaki courderoy pants

3 of your favorite bands/artists:
1. Steven Curtis Chapman
2. Rebecca St. James
3. Smalltown Poets or Newsboys

3 of your favorite songs at present:
1. Gravity - Shawn McDonald
2. This Fragile Breathe - Todd Agnew
3. the new release by Barlow Girl...I forget the name

3 new things you want to try in the next 12 months:
1. a new cell phone plan...mine sucks
2. something Chinese (Greg and GW know)
3. to make my own purses like my friend does

3 things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
1. friendship
2. trust/loyalty
3. attention

2 truths and a lie:(no particular order to keep ya guessing)
1. I've been cutting my own hair since I was 11 years old
2. I've never been to a Major League baseball game.
3. One of my favourite foods is an Eggo waffle topped with peanut butter and marshmallows

3 physical things about a love interest that appeal:
1. eyes
2. beautiful smile
3. not hairy

3 things you just can't do:
1. play first person role-playing video games w/o getting sick
2. ride on a ski-lift or in a sky-bucket
3. go out into the ocean farther than I can still see my toes at the bottom

3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. cross-stitch/embroidery
2. painting ceramics/woodcrafts
3. reading

3 things you want to do really badly right now:
1. go on a vacation
2. buy a new house
3. finish my new cross-stitch project instead of cleaning house!

3 careers you're considering (let's say I would consider):
1. Avon District Sales Manager
2. Owner/Manager of my own store
3. College Professor

3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. Disneyworld in Orlando, FL
2. Gatlinburg, TN
3. Pensacola, FL

3 kids names (either boy or girl):
1. Gabriella
2. Eli
3. Danica

3 things you want to do before you die:
1. Get out of debt
2. Have my own house designed/built
3. See my kids happily married and settled

3 people who have to take this quiz now:
1. Greg
2. Good Wife
3. Birdie

My First "Child"

This is Amos, my wedding present from four years ago. He was born on May 14th, 2000 and we brought him home the first week in July when he was only 8 weeks old. I used to carry him around in the pocket of my bathrobe, he was so tiny. Now he weighs all of between 8 and 9 pounds and is spoiled rotten. He even sleeps in the bed with us - usually under the covers but sometimes he sleeps with his head on my pillow and I hug him like a teddy bear. Rotten beast! :)

Little Amos

An Unexpected Addition

Four years ago, two weeks after our wedding...Alan bought me a black and tan, miniature weenie dog that we named Amos (officially "Little Amos") for a wedding present. Alan worked 12 hour night shifts then and I was alone every evening. Amos was a great little buddy and lots of company, which is why the spoiled rotten little beast still sleeps in our bed under the covers every night. Anyway, we had always intended to get him a "mate" but then our first daughter, Cat, came along followed two years later by our second one - Ash, and we just haven't had the time or effort to put into getting another dog. Amos is AKC registered with a good bloodline and family lineage. We paid too much for him but he's worth every penny. Since then however, we haven't had the money to purchase him a girlfriend, though from time to time we have looked around. Today was a typical day. I was trying to get caught up with my Avon business and keep the girls fed, clean, and for the most part satisfied. Alan was at work until he got off at 6:00 pm. When he came home however, he didn't come alone. I met him at the car and was immediatly attacked by a little black and tan bundle of energy. Yep! He brought home a little 5 month old female, black and tan, miniature weenie dog puppy! She too will be AKC registered as soon as we send the paper work in. (Her parents are full-blooded and registered). She was given to him by a lady he met today who was looking for a good adoptive family for her baby. She was having to move and could not take her puppy with her, but wanted her to go to a family who would keep her indoors and love her and spoil her rotten. Alan saw the lady with the puppy and just commented on how beautiful the puppy was. He then told her that we had been looking for a mate for our dog who looks exactly like her and is spoiled rotten - even sleeping in the bed. The woman told him...you have just found one. I'm looking for an adoptive family for "Pepper" and if you want her... you are it. So we have a new addition to our ever-growing family. Pepper who when her registration papers are complete will be renamed "Lady Abagail" and called "Abby." Here she is:

Our New Addition - Lady Abagail (Abby)

My Little Princess

This is Cat, my three year old who looks about 6 in this picture. She is modeling the Sleeping Beauty Princess Dress Up gown that her grandparents sent her for Christmas. And that pose was NOT my idea...LOL. I got ready to snap the picture and she says "Mommy...I haffa hold my Christmas tree!" :)


My Little Princess

Housecleaning

I figured it was about time to do a little "cleaning" up on my blog. If you will notice in the side bar, I have made a few changes and additions. First of all, the section headings finally match! I've been meaning to fix that forever, and when I logged on I kept forgetting. Secondly, I added a link where you can go to my Avon homepage and browse or shop to your heart's content. And finally, I also added a link to yet another blog I have created -- this one with the intent to publish review and recommendations by myself and possibly others of Avon products which hopefully some of you will find useful. Before upcoming holidays, I will even post a list of "gift ideas" for guys and gals. Maybe the men out there will appreciate that one. For instance...although the Bust Sculpt and Cell-u-Sculpt are both wonderful products, it probably wouldn't be that great of an idea to give it to your lady love as a Valentine's Day gift! I'm thinking you may end up on the couch for that one! ;)

Anew Year...(pun intended)

Welcome back everyone! Hope you had a very merry Christmas and I wish you all the best in the new year! I am hoping the new year will bring some new beginnings. Especially for my Avon business. I have to admit I did not end the past year with the best record. In fact, I did not even send in an order for my last campaign of 2004. It was due by December 28th and it just happened that my little girls came down with a nasty stomach virus on Christmas Day and the day after...so I was force feeding Pedialyte and Ginger Ale....holding downy soft ponytails while my baby girls emptied their little tummies with violent wretches....mopping clammy foreheads...administering medicine...changing and washing sheets...mopping floors...running around the house with a can of Lysol disinfectant spray like a crazy woman....and of course doing the cuddling and comforting required by sick kiddies of their mommy. (Which...as usual resulted in me getting the virus too). This week however, everyone is back to normal. The kids are bouncing off the walls...literally...and playing with all the new stuff they got for Christmas. Alan and I are trying to establish some semblance of "order" to our household...cleaning...and rearranging things. AND I'm attempting to get my business things more organized as well. My problem is...I NEED CUSTOMERS. I have one person, Aurora...who orders from me every single campaign...God bless her! But for the most part...my other customers place orders sporadically and I can't rely on them for income. My Avon business allows me to stay home with my baby girls. Alan is a police officer and while he adores his job (and I adore the way he looks in that uniform) it's not a very high paying profession. Especially when you consider that technically police officers are being paid to put their lives on the line on a daily basis. They don't get paid a tenth of what they deserve. Plus, we live in a small town in Alabama...so our town's budget for police does not come close to comparing with that of larger departments. In other words...we make it...but just barely. There is usually not any money for "extras" and we are okay unless something breaks down or needs serious repair..including ourselves! If you use...would like to use...or know of anyone else who might like to use Avon products and need(s) a representative...please keep me in mind. I have my own website now where you can order directly from me and have the products sent directly to you. http://www.youravon.com/dwykoff
Please bookmark me and send me to your friends and family as well! I also put together gift baskets for all occasions for very reasonable prices...I just have to know well enough in advance so that I have time to order the products that I don't have on hand. Anyway...to get to the point...my new year started off rather well. I received a phone call from a lady who needed a representative and wanted me to serve her. She called me back today with an order for three products. Not just any products...but three products from Avon's ANEW CLINICAL line which is the most technologically advanced (also most expensive) line Avon currently offers. From the sale of those three products alone, I made $90.00. Not a bad way to start 2005....and so I wish you all... a Happy Anew Year! :)

A Distorted Hello

For those of you who use the program "Hello" to post pics on your blogs, I need a bit of help. For some reason when I select a photo taken with my digital cam which I have saved in JPEG format...it looks fine on my computer...fine on everyone else's computer...and fine when I use "Hello" to select it...but when it actually uploads to my blog, it is distorted. Any ideas on how to correct this? I've tried resizing the pics...to no avail.

Oh Fudge! Literally

"Oh Fudge" has become my favourite exclaimation to use around the house when either I injure myself or something doesn't exactly go in accordance to my plans. It started when I had kids in my effort not to say some of the other ..not so kid-friendly words that begin with the same phonetic prefix. Anyway...I recently discovered that I use that phrase more than I had realized when I dropped the lid to one of my pots in the kitchen and the 18 month old comes up behind me and says "Oh Fudge" in this adorable little baby voice! I had to look twice to make sure it actually came from her and not the older one. I cracked up laughing! I digress. The real story I intended to tell revolves around a chocolate cake that my husband's grandmother made us for Christmas. We had eaten several slices (yummy..it was delicious) and the remainder was sitting in a tupperware cake plate on my stove top in the kitchen. The way our house is laid out, there are two entrances to the kitchen. One doorway into the den/dining area and the other into the main hallway. We keep baby gates up across both entrances which keeps the kids in the den and denies them access to the rest of the house. That is about the only way I can get any work done without having to watch them quite so closely. (Or so I thought). Anyway...the stove in the kitchen sits right next to the doorway which was barred by a gate. I had taken a few minutes to go to the bathroom while the girls were content in the den. All of a sudden I hear Cat scream "No Sister!" followed quickly by "Mommy! Sister's in big trouble!" Oh fudge! I think to myself as I hurry up and finish my business and paper work. I'm hopping down the hall pulling my jeans up as I go and have just finished attending to the zipper when I look up and see what used to be my adorable, pajama clad 18 month old toddling toward me. She is covered quite literally from head to toe in chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I can just see her eyes peeking out from a completely brown face. It's all over her clothing and between her toes. It's obvious that she has gotten into the rest of G'ma's cake...but how? Did I leave it on the table in the dining room? No...it was on the stove. It was then that I noticed the kitchen chair pushed over to the gate. I had promised the girls a piece after they finished their lunch. Apparantly Ash decided she wasn't going to wait on me to serve her. While Cat sat calmly and finished her meal, Ash pushed the chair over to the gate...crawled up in it...and pulled the cake off the stove into the floor. Luckily for her it landed right side up and the top popped off. She had helped herself to a little bit of cake and a WHOLE lot of frosting!!! I didn't know where to begin to recover from this disaster. There were little chocolate hand and foot prints all over the floors and walls...table...some toys...everywhere! What was left of the cake was sitting in a huge, gooey pile in the floor. I finally decided to clean the baby hands and feet first - at least that way she couldn't make copies of the ones I was already scrubbing off the walls. I finally got it all cleaned up and dumped her chocolate covered rear into the bathtub which promptly turned into a muddy chocolate swap...complete with little vinyl bathtub toy frogs. I was really too stunned to get onto Ash properly. It was one of those situations where you kinda have to laugh to keep from crying. When asked what she had to say for herself, Ash turned her adorable little pigtailed head in my direction...gave me a huge chocolate covered grin...and said "I EAT!" I guess that about summed it up.

In the Spirit of Christmas

I just found this blog today and was struck by this woman's burden to bear this Christmas. Just after hurrican Ivan came through, she was abandoned by her husband who is also purposely witholding from her the insurance money much needed to make repairs on the home she shares with her two daughters. Part of said insurance money was also supposed to be used to replace most of her daughter, Amanda's clothing and belongings that were destroyed by the storm. Up until two days ago... the three ladies did not even have a Christmas tree due to their financial situation. As it is, Dawn is struggling to provide a Christmas for her girls while the soon to be ex-husband intentionally withholds family funds preventing her from succeeding. If you believe this blogger is for real and can find it in your heart to help...here is her blog link. http://overactiveimagination.blogspot.com . I'm sure that anything you can do will be appreciated...whether you make a financial donation, send cards or gifts (even if they are late), or just offer a few words of encouragement and prayers.

God Bless to All
Have a Merry Christmas!

Elf-Work

*Whew* I am ALMOST finished wrapping all the Christmas gifts for this year. I'm done with Santa stuff, I'm done with my household's things, and most of my other family and friends' gifts. I am waiting on two more things to come in that I ordered and they had better come in this week before Friday or I'm going to be seriously ticked off. Anyway, once Christmas is over I'll be glad if I don't see wrapping paper of any kind for a whole year! In addition to wrapping all of our gifts to give, I had to wrap all of my Avon customers' holiday orders as well. My fingers are paper cut and my thumb is rough on the tip from tearing the tape off the dispenser 50 million times. I can't believe how cold it has gotten. They are talking about some snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Ugh! We went with Hersch and Aurora, their daughters, and one of their daughter's boyfriend to Taco Bell for dinner tonight after we exchanged gifts at their house. A little too much running around in the freezing weather for my taste. Oh, and to top it off...Ash (my one year old) dumped a large fountain drink all over herself and the other Ash (Hersch and Aurora's youngest daughter). Being soaking wet in below freezing temperatures is NOT a good thing. I was afraid she was going to turn into a fat little popscicle. We made it home okay though, and got the munchin dry and tucked into bed. I think I'm going to go tuck myself in too. There are several things I need to be doing but frankly, I'm too cold. I would never make it if I lived up North! Going to go crawl in bed with Alan and get warm! :)

Name that Song!

"When there's clouds hangin' in your sky
And they're just not lettin' any light in
And you feel like you'd like to give in
Don't you give up so soon..."

From the Mouth of Babes...

If you don't have children, perhaps you haven't realized how much trouble they can get you into through no fault of your own. When they put their foot in their mouth, they are simultaneously sticking their other foot into YOURS. Or at least that is how it feels as you do the proverbial "backpedaling" trying to take the edge off whatever off-color comment just popped out of their adorably innocent little mouth. Geez! Take dinner tonight for instance. Alan, the girls and I went to deliver a fruit basket that I had put together for some friends of ours. We had never actually been to their home before, and when we arrived, Dan and his wife, Reese showed us around. They ended up inviting us to stay for dinner. It's about 5:30 in the evening and we've had the girls out all day shopping and running errands. Which means that they haven't had their regularly scheduled all-important afternoon nap. So I'm hesitant to accept, knowing what kind of mood the girls will be in if they aren't already. But we hated to just drop the basket off and run, so we courageously accepted the kind invitation. Dan and Reese are an older couple with no children living at home, so there were no toys around and we were unprepared for such a lengthy visit. Luckily, Reese's sister had some of her childhood toys stored in the garage and they were able to find a few things to bring in that would keep the girls entertained for a while. Everything went fine. We eventually sat around the dinner table and were eating our lasagna, salad and bread and making small talk. Out of the blue...Cat starts counting out loud. So Reese asks her to count how many of us there were at the table. (*Hint - there were seven of us - Dan, Reese, Reese's sister, Alan, myself, and our two girls.) So Cat starts pointing to each of us and counting... "ONE...TWO...THREE...FOUR..." until she got to "EIGHT." Dan, who is a larger than average fellow...gently corrects her. "No doll, there are only seven of us...see?" and he points to each of us in turn as he counts aloud again, starting with Reese to his right and ending with himself. "....SIX...SEVEN." he counts. "No..." Cat argues... "You are Seven AND Eight!" Dan's wife and sister-in-law crack up laughing and Alan and I embarrassedly chuckle along with them. Ah the joys of parenthood!

Name that Song!

"I searched the world for a song that I could sing
Praise to my King, a gift that I could bring.
But no music I found could compare to You
Not one could do justice to Your glory.
What are my songs compared to yours?"

Musical Mindframe

Music seems to be a very powerful influence in my life. It was largely due to a contemporary Christian song called "Signs of Life" (which prompted me to buy the album of the same name) by Steven Curtis Chapman, that I became "saved" at the age of 13. I have always had the ability to change my mood or state of mind by playing various types of music. Some songs are energizing - I have to play them when I'm decorating, or cleaning, or working out, etc. Some songs are relaxing - I play them when I need to de-stress and zone out for a while. Some songs...well..frankly....nicely put...make me extremely flirty and rather uninhibited. Then there are those songs that seem to be forever linked to a particular memory or moment in time...whether good or bad. Thanks to some inspiration from Greg at http://straightforwardthoughts.blogspot.com , I have decided to try listing some song lyrics each day. It's up to you to guess which song and artist it is as well as which mood/mode it puts me in! ;) Have fun...and NAME THAT TUNE! :)

"You're only just a dream boat
Sailing in my head.
You swim my secret oceans,
Of coral blue and red..."

If I were 10 Years Younger...OMG Did I Just Say That?!?

My husband is six years older than me. All of my friends are at LEAST six years older..most are around 10 years older than me. Alan and I "hang out" ie..go to family dinners together with another officer that he works with and his family quite often. The officer (whom I will call Hersch and his wife whom I will call Aurora) have two teenage daughters. I am actually closer in age to their daughters than I am our friends. The eldest daughter is 18. I'm 25. Only a seven year difference. Hersch is 12 years older than me and his wife is 17 years older. Well...in a way it's fun because I can hang out with the girls' and their friends and fit in just fine. At least until one of my own kids comes wandering in calling out for "mommy" and I'm forced to eventually answer! hehe! Anyway...at one of the "get togethers" the girls' had some friends over and there was one guy-friend in particular that I was ...how should I say...drawn to. RT just stood out from the rest of the group. He had a great personality, was absolutely (Dang..there I go using Greg's WOD again) adorable, had a good physique (he's a swimmer), and was too funny! Plus he kept flirting with me. So besides the fact that I'm married..what's the problem? He's 16! And I found him attractive! My God I have never felt so old in my life! I told the younger daughter of our friends that she needed to be dating him because if I were ten years younger and not married....PAUSE! OMG! Did I really just say that? Yeah. Exactly. Anyway...fast forwarding about two weeks...I had to deliver some Avon to a lady that works at the local high school yesterday. I was supposed to meet her at 3:30 but thanks to my own kiddies, I was running late. Alan was driving and I was dreading having to actually go into the school to deliver her things. We pulled into the little parking lot nearest the building. School had just let out and there were still kids all over the place. I take a deep breath and get ready to get out of the car and when I look up I see RT walking past us. He sees me at the same time and stops...turns around, and comes over to my side of the car with this big adorable grin on his face. We chat for a few minutes and Alan particpates in the conversation a little bit when he gets a chance. Then I was like..."RT..you wouldn't want to do a HUGE favor for me would you?" and of course he said "sure". So anyway, he took the Avon stuff back in to the lady for me. From the high school we went to our friend Hersch and Aurora's home where I immediatly told Aurora that I had run into RT again and told Ash (the youngest daughter) that she REALLY should go after him before I did! (j/k) I joking told Aurora..."Man..it's too bad he's jailbait!" and then Alan spoke up and reminded me that the age of consent in our state is 16. I said "How old is he Ash?" She goes..."he just turned 16 a couple of months ago..." I looked at Alan and said.."damn! turn the car around!!!" Of course he knew I was teasing and we all laughed!

Measured by a Man and Found...Wanted?

Went out to dinner with my husband and the girls tonight. It was a yucky, rainy, dreary evening. I had just gotten out of a meeting in my home with my district sales manager and had developed (not her fault) a seriously painful headache. The girls were unhappy -- hungry and tired of being cooped up in the house, so we were all ready to get out for a bit even though I wasn't in the mood to "dress" for dinner. I threw on some light-beige colored courderoy pants and my favorite baby pink zip up the front shirt with my initials monogramed on it in white. Pulled my hair back in baby-doll pins on the sides, added just a touch of blush and lipgloss and made a mad dash to the car with a rugrat on my hip (the husband had the other one). We went to the steakhouse about five minutes from our home. One of the only nice, sit and eat versus, carry-out or drive through places in our town. Alan was at the table trying to occupy the girls while I fixed their plates at the buffet. All of a sudden, I hear a voice in my ear and feel the hot air of someone's breath on my neck. "Hey Girl..." the voice said. "Haven't seen you in a while...you're looking good!" I turned quickly while managing not to sling the steaming maccaroni and cheese from the plate in my hand, to see the face of a guy I went to high school with and literally haven't seen since we graduated 6 years ago. You know how it is when you recognize the face but the name just won't come to you. Had I been a cartoon character, you would have seen the thought bubble appear over my head containing a roladex of our high-school roster...cards spinning wildly as my mind seached the recesses of my memory for the right name to answer back with. "Oh Hi....ROGER!" That's it... whew! "So how've ya been?" Pretty good...he replied while leaning in for a hug. (I had to make that quick adjustment so that it was a side-hug...more appropriate for someone you haven't seen in 7 years...right?) Anyway...he's just standing there stareing at me when my daughter, 3 catches up with me and grabs my arm. "Oh my God...is that your little girl?" he asks. When I apply to the affirmative, he asks how old she is...I say 3. "That is one beautiful little girl. Really...really beautiful." he says. I open my mouth to say thanks when he suddenly follows his comment by saying "she looks just like you...both of you...just beautiful." Now I've kicked into the uncomfortable mode, especially as I've noticed, that Alan has noticed my delay. "Um...thanks." I murmer "Good to see you" as I let 3 drag me away by the arm. Whew! Glad that was over. Or so I thought. He stopped by our table again on his way back to his own seat, where I QUICKLY introduced him to my husband and other child. A few more exchanged pleasantries and he was gone again. Then as luck would have it...just as we passed his table on our way out the door, 1 picked that moment to throw her pacifier down. Alan and 3 had already preceded me out the door. I glanced up after retrieving the rejected paci, and my line of vision caught Roger's eyes and he winked at me and waved as I darted for the door. I have to admit that I enjoyed the attention. Not HIS attention so much, as knowing that men other than my husband still find me desirable. I am smaller now, after having had two children, than I was in high-school (except where it counts....haha). Not many women can make that claim, and feeling desirable once in a while is nice. Unfortunatly, Alan just takes it for granted that I am his and it doesn't really bother him when someone else hits on me. Hint to the guys out there: sometimes a little jealously is SO not a bad thing! Let's us know that you noticed someone else noticing...and are staking your claim...AGAIN. ;)

My New Computer!!!

I'm so excited! My best friend, her husband, and her two little boys came to visit us today. We exchanged Christmas presents early since they are going to be going out of town for the next two weeks. Plus, I had given her 3-month old son this adorable Christmas layette outfit that looked like a reindeer and even had a little hat with antlers. It's one of those great outfits that makes the adorable photos for the baby book, that 'R' will kill his mom for showing to his girlfriend in the future. Not quite as embarrassing as the naked baby bathtub pictures...but close. Gotta love 'em. :) Anyway, Kaye's huband has been building me a new computer since last Christmas, and he brought it to me today. It's a long story, but what it boils down to is that my in-laws gave me the Lord of the Rings game (based on the movie with full scenes and all) for my computer for Christmas last year, and my old computer (the one I'm using right now) sucks so bad, that it wouldn't play (or even install) the game, so Jay built me a new one. It's awesome! I have never seen anything like it. It has a gaming mother-board with a video card that alone cost over $130! The side panel of the hard-drive is clear and there are fans inside that change colors, and blacklight neon tubing that keeps all the wires together, and all kinds of other crazy stuff that makes it flash brilliant colors all around the room. And that just the cosmetics....I can't remember all the technical specifics..but suffice it to say...it's VERY fast and the graphics kick ass! So if I should disappear off the face of the earth for a few days....I'm probably on a long journey with the oh so sexy Aragorn...battling orcs and the like on my quest to destroy the ring and restore peace to the world!

New Blog

Hi Guys and Gals!
I have created an additional blog specifically for my online 'bookclub.' It is called Englishrose's Reading Room and can be found at http://readingrose.blogspot.com . So far there are two members...haha...myself and Chuck (thanks Chuck!) and two others who have been invited but have not accepted their invitations yet (you know who you are, so click the confirm link already!) *grin* Anyone interested is welcome to join. Just go to the blog and leave me a comment and I'll send you an invitation. Anyone is allowed to comment, but only members may post to the blog. I have so many new things to share with you all, but alas it's already after midnight and my eyes are crossing, so I'll have to leave it for another post on another day. Just don't let me forget!

Calling all Bookworms!

I don't know how many of you love to read, but I certainly do. Not that I have a whole lot of time on my hands with two small children running around and trying to develope my Avon business as well, but reading is something that I generally try to make time for. I tuck the girls in bed by 8, my husband in bed by 9 (on nights that he has to work the next morning) and then I run to the bathroom with a good book and a bottle of bubble bath! That is MY time. Run the water as warm as it will get without burning my behind....fill it with scented bubbles...(whatever the flavor of the week happens to be)....inflate my bathtub pillow and sink up to my nose in both, the luxuriously scented steamy water and a good book. Granted I've run across a few that were not so good...you still can't prove to me that my life was not enriched even the tiniest bit by my having read them. Even if you learned how to use one single word that you were not aware of....or read one random fact of interest regardless of it's usefulness, then to me the book was worth reading. Having said that, I recently found my list of the most widely read and studied literary works ever, and have decided to continue my quest of attempting to read them all at some point before I leave this world. My question now...to you dear friends....is....CARE TO JOIN ME? If so, I will create another blog dedicated to acheiveing this lofty goal...set up in book club format. Come on...it will be fun! I promise to give you a while to read. I plan to split each book up into chapter assignments to be completed by a certain date. How does a book a month sound? Come on...live a little....live and learn! :)