Daydreaming misadventurer

It's been a year...

2013-03-02T22:20:00.002-05:00

It has been a little past a year since I last checked in...
What is new? Well, not a lot to tell the truth. People are still people and the world still turns. The kids have been ok, minor hiccups, but nothing we can't work through. Crankybear has been ok too and has even started his own blog... Yoda's Outdoor Adventures
Pretty neat blog about all of the camping and hiking he does as well as our trips as a family. It is an awesome way to showcase some of the neat places we have been.
I have been busy with 2 jobs now, plus kid stuff, and haven't had time for a whole lot, but I am working on making time for some fun in all of this somewhere. I am excited, I recently bought a Dremel Tool. There is now NO limit as to what great things I can make. I have taken up Geocaching... great way to get outside and have some fun. I have many small projects I am working on craft wise. I will take some time to post more tomorrow.
Today was just a welcome back stranger and wow it has been a while since I have been around post.

Happy Saturday Night!

YAY for finished projects

2012-01-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

I had no idea that when I was woken up this morning it would be to the sound of my Toad asking if I wanted breakfast in bed... after politely declining she responds with "but mom, it's the raisin bran with 2 scoops". I think she was trying to say thank you for the girls night out. I took both of them to get their hair cut and while we were there the girl's best friends showed up to get hair cuts as well. Awesome surprise for them as well as dinner out with bff's afterward. I was further driven out of bed this morning by the sound of these 2 girls squealing about snow. Yes, we finally got a touch of snow and now winter can be over and go away.
The first deucedly annoying task for today was to clean the disaster that was the computer desk. I had forgotten how large this desk really is... I had a whole list of other things to do, but as with any list I decided the more interesting things would get done next.
There was one project I really wanted to get done and I am happy to say that it is finished and turned out pretty awesome. Monkey helped A LOT, it is amazing how we every manage to do things with only 2 hand sometimes, I am very glad that I had her hands as extras to help. I have been to Kohl's many times and always looked at the fabric/ribbon photo boards, but could never bring myself to spend that much cash on one.
When I revamped the dresser into the kid's desk I saved the rectangle board from the bottom of one of the drawers, this turned out to be the perfect size for this project. I had the fabric from a previous project (I bought the fabric at Ikea), and the ribbon I had bought at Walmart on clearance when they did away with the fabric department.
Well, after 2 hours and a lot of hot glue gun burns here it is....

While I didn't get a lot done other than this and the cleaning of my tornado stricken desk, I would say today has been one pretty awesome Saturday. Tomorrow though is when the real work begins. (it's laundry day)
Happy weekend.

Hello face lift!

2012-01-15T10:09:00.002-05:00

It's a new year and to celebrate, I have a new look! Happy 2012 everyone!
I did not really make a resolutions, but I can say that this year is going to be great! I am working hard on trying to make sure that in all of the craziness of life that I take a few moments to myself and do something I want to do. So far that has been to crochet items and work harder at selling them. I have a facebook page dedicated to this now Crafty Creations, I also have a Made it myself page to try and get my items out there. I know I won't get rich doing this, but it would be nice to make some extra cash as well as keep dying arts (like crochet) from becoming history.
I have my first real customer, so I have to get busy on getting the hat and scarf set for her done. I also have a baby gift to make for a friend, so with that I think I should hop off of here and post more later.
Hope you enjoy the face lift.
Here is a picture of one of my latest creations.
The winter blues set, a hat and scarf set for girls ages 7-12 with 3 interchangeable flowers.(only one flower shown for now) There is also a picture of a bubble gum pink baby girl hat I made. The one I made is sized for infants 0-3 months. Toooo cute for words!

Buy & Sell Handmade Crafts, Jewelry, Quilts, Soaps & Greeting Cards, Custom Homemade Products Online - Made It Myself

2011-11-30T18:23:00.000-05:00

Buy & Sell Handmade Crafts, Jewelry, Quilts, Soaps & Greeting Cards, Custom Homemade Products Online - Made It Myself

A new site for peddling my wares... lol we shall see where this takes us.

Unemployed and anxious.

2011-09-30T19:18:00.000-04:00

Not all of my choices are the best, and I proved it once again. I thought I had found another job that would be better than where I was, that was wrong. I had left my sales position to clean houses with the promise of higher pay and no nights and weekends. There is no way to explain how excited I was... But that ended after a month.
I was lied to, used and fired a month after starting. After some serious job hunting that day, I have an interview scheduled for Sunday. The most frustrating part is trying to figure out how to pay bills and keep myself occupied while I am home. So far it has entailed some cooking, crafting, and cleaning.
There is a new show on called The Chew and of course I swiped a recipe (sort of) from them. The Apple Ring Pancakes that were made on the first show looked awesome. Now while I couldn't get the actual recipe I had the basic idea, so I took some apples, peeled them and sliced them, cored them, and dipped them into pancake batter with a little all spice. They were amazing! I made enough to stick in the fridge for the children to warm up all week for breakfast and the kids finished them this morning. I have to make more tomorrow to stick in the fridge by special request. :) I am super happy the kids liked them so much.
The crafting I have done has really just been about flowers. I have been making some paper flowers and satin flowers. I don't know yet what I want to use the paper flowers for, but they are pretty neat and easy to make. The satin flowers are a little more time consuming, but look great on hair ties and head bands. I will have to take some pictures once I figure out what I want to do with the paper flowers and I will take pictures of all of the flowers and post them.

We are also getting ready for the fall MAHHA(mid-atlantic hammock hangers association) Hang. This year we are taking Toad with us as a special birthday gift to her. She is super excited and I can't wait to get her out with us. Her and I will be geocaching most of the weekend while all of the super hammock enthusiasts talk about gear. I love going, but I am not a gear junkie, so I really don't care about all of the new and crazy things going on, it's just nice to see friends and enjoy a great weekend camping.
Well I am off to watch a movie with the kids and start planning the geocaches we will be finding.

Searching for my replacement

2011-08-13T11:06:00.000-04:00

My resignation was not as epic as I thought it would be. My manager understands the reasons why I told her I was leaving and didn't really say much else about it. Nice. I was also glad to see they are already scheduling interviews with people to replace me. It's about time they did something before it is too late.

I can honestly say I am very excited about this change of pace for me. I have to ton of project ideas that I really want to work on, but just haven't had time. Not working weekends is going to free up a bunch of time for me to work on everything from the giant scrabble board to the rubber hose chair and even more. I can't wait! I have so many plans and ideas of stuff I want to make and now I will have time.
I have to go and open up a storage unit to put some extra stuff in. Once that is done though it is on! I will get my dremel tool and router attachment and get to work. It will be awesome.

Summer is plugging along at an alarming rate and our apartment looks like a hot mess. We are getting ready for our annual family camping trip and as things get packed, they are being stacked anywhere we can find space. It reminds me of an episode of hoarders when they are part way through the clean up process... piles everywhere, but it's starting to make sense. lol The kid's school supplies are in bags in a pile in the corner until I can get a few minutes to separate and label it all. With school starting soon and everything else seeming to happen so fast, it has made me think of just how fast this year is flying by. Seems like yesterday there was a ton of snow and we were having trouble remembering to write 2011 instead of 2010 and now in 4 and 1/2 short months we will be making resolutions and saying good-bye to 2011. The kids are getting older, Toad will turn double digits this year!! The big 10! I can't believe my baby is getting so big. Monkey is starting First Grade!! OMG! Above all else I will be 28 in 10 days. Where did time go?!
Oh well, just keep plugging along.

Gear Making hiccups

2011-08-12T22:24:00.000-04:00

Every kid wants their own things. Knowing this I decided to make camp stools for the girls to take on our annual family camping trip. After some research I decided to go simple and just make a little fold up flat stool out of pvc pipe and fabric. I stopped a few days ago at the hardware store and got all of the pvc pipe and fittings I needed and came home to mixed reactions. The girls helped me clean the pipes and Crankybear helped me cut a few of the pipes a little shorter. Well after some work I got one put together and tested it under my butt and it held. I begged Crankybear to try it and I don't know who won but it was hilarious. The fabric gave way to his butt and he landed on the floor.

I will be making new seats obviously. This is the one I got pretty much done and the one that Crankybear sat on after I sat on it.
In other news. We are almost ready for our camping trip, work is trying to find a replacement for me, and I have had an enjoyable day off today. Max went to the groomers today, he smells nice and looks sweet. Although I don't think he really likes getting his picture taken...

The second one makes him look kind of chubby. He isn't, but has a good amount of extra skin. Well it has been a long day and I am pooped. Off to bed for me so I can post another time...lol

Sparkle Booty jeans on the supply list?!?!?!

2011-08-05T23:49:00.000-04:00

Some how every year the school supply list gets longer and more ridiculous. If I remember correctly when I was younger my mother griped about buying tissues for the class, but most everything else was just for my personal use, I must say though, I have seen a disturbing trend involving school supplies. Part of the list is made up of specific items that are almost as impossible to find as the pot of gold that is supposedly at the end of the rainbow, part of the list is made up of things that I know my kids will use, but they ask for extra, and the rest of the list is comprised of items that make you wonder where your tax dollars are going. Easiest way to explain this is by example, so here goes.
Specific and hard to find items---3 inch binder--now I wanted to buy a nicer one that would hopefully last the school year, but not spend an arm and leg (just the arm). After hours of searching and finding nothing under $20, I spent $12 on a binder with 2 sets of 1 and 1/2 inch rings...the equivalent to a 3 inch binder. It will have to do.
Items I know my kids will use, but they have asked for extras---3boxes of plain yellow pencils!!!! So, I am buying pencils for every kid in class who's parents don't keep extra pencils at home!? That is exactly the case!
Last but not least, the items that make you wonder where your tax dollars are really going--hand soap?! sanitizer?! They hold fundraisers for technology(like promethean boards) but do not have the funds for the children to wash properly?!?!! Hold a fundraiser for soap! and of course what school year would be complete unless I bought ziploc bags in various sizes, and lysol wipes?!

Well, everything is bought, and I have to sit and separate everything and label it with each child's name, if for no other reason than to let the teacher know who actually got what was on the list so later in the year they don't come begging me for more.

Now for the fun, what school year would be complete without a few new clothes? NONE. So while we were out today I found a couple of awesome deals I couldn't pass up and neither could the kids. I found some nice shirts at walmart and khols, but I think the best find was at walmart. Monkey has had a nice growth spurt this year and doesn't really fit any of her jeans anymore, she has been wearing a lot of Toad's clothes because none of hers were fitting. While at walmart we spotted some jeans marked down to $6 a pair. Monkey HAD to spend almost 10 minutes looking through them all to find her size in the sparkly jeans. They fit her perfect and she is in need of new jeans, but I was a bit shocked to see how quickly school supplies turned into sparkly booty jeans.

All in all it was a great day off. Enjoyed shopping with the kids, had lunch at taco bell, paid my car insurance for the month, went to the pool, had dinner and relaxed watching movies with the zoo. I am dreading tomorrow! First, I don't want to go to work, and second, I don't want to deal with the talking about my resignation. I haven't gotten a response after sending it last night, but I am sure it was received and I can just hear the mess now... ugh!

Resignations and windows 98

2011-08-04T16:20:00.001-04:00

WOW! I didn't realize just how long it had been since I posted. Feels like forever ago. So now for the news... Summer is almost over (which I am very sad about). We have a week and then we are off on our family camping trip. School starts a week after we get back and before we know it Halloween will be here.
My b-day, Crankybear's b-day and Toad's b-day are all right around the corner. I can't believe I am the mom to an almost 10 year old!!! Hello!? Freaking out a little! It's good though, she is growing up to be an extraordinary young lady. I couldn't ask for more. Monkey is starting first grade and is 8 months away from being 7! OMG my babies are growing up so quick!...lol
The week after we return from camping I will be starting a new job! YAY! A very family oriented owner who stated that weekends are family time and that is why we don't work them... To be home nights and weekends is going to be a shock to my system after spending the last 2 years working nights and weekends. The kids are excited that I will be home more, as am I.
Monkey has started at a new dance school and is loving every moment. We couldn't be happier, and while she will miss her friends at rec council dance she will thrive at the new dance school. Toad is happy to be starting gymnastics in a few weeks, and will be enjoying time spent bare footed pushing her limits in the gym.
Lets not forget that both girls are dreading the start of swim lessons in the fall, but swimming is a life lesson that will serve them well since we live in a waterfront community. They understand and are willing to endure as it is one of the few requirements for the ability to do some of the things they want to do.

It's amazing to me how much things can change in just a couple short months. I didn't think I would see the day when I would be sending in a resignation letter, but I have made it. It is a hard thing to do... typing up a resignation letter. Your first instinct is to tell the place(that has caused your blood pressure to be through the roof) to "shove it" and walk away as fast as you can, but something in you says "you better not". The other(more reasonable) part of you says it should be positive, and if you can't say anything nice just don't say it. For example: I can say that I did learn a lot during my time of employement here, but I shouldn't say what I learned specifically like.... how not to treat customers, how to work for cheap bastards, how to screw people over, how to deal with windows 98 in 2011, or how to bust your butt for a company that not only doesn't respect or care for it's employees, but would sell you out to a foriegn buyer if they thought they could make a buck off it. Now I have tried a few different times to come up with the right words and basically what my letter says is thanks for the job here, but it's time for me to move on. The other part I find so insanely hard is getting hotmail to work on windows 98. I have tried numerous times to type and send this letter and each time the computer crashes. I have decided that if they don't have the proper notice it is not my fault as I have tried dozens of times to type and send it and the computer crashes. It has also given me the error message that it "has performed an illegal action and needs to close" to which I say bullshit. It is not illegal for me to quit my job and the computer hasn't done anything illegal on it's own.(aside from being the oldest computer still getting used daily).
I can't wait to be done here. It's scary to do something new, but I think this is going to be the best choice for now. Honestly, I would be stupid for not taking the new job... more money and nights and weekends home with the kids. That is every mom's dream job, work while the kids are in school, and home for all of the evening activities.
Well, I think I am going to go and try again to send my resignation letter.
Hopefully this new job will afford me the time to post a little more often... (since i am sure I won't be leaving work at 9pm wishing I could crawl into bed the minute I walk in the door) :)

Oh, the stress of it all, but sweet release...

2011-04-14T10:42:00.000-04:00

While I may be stressed to the hilt at the moment, there is a release coming soon. Tomorrow is crunch day, I have to spend the day packing and getting ready to go. Saturday morning we leave to go visit some friends and family and enjoy a much deserved vacation.
Trip plan:
     1. Leave 4/16 early---drive to Iowa
     2. Stay at hotel until 4/22 and visit with friends and fam in the area
     3. Leave 4/22 and head down to see the World's Largest Rocking Chair
     4. From the chair we head down to visit with my mom
     5. Spend a few days with my mom and enjoy Easter
     6. Leave my mom's and stop at the World's Largest Catsup Bottle
     7. Drive home.
So it looks not near as drastic as it truly is... This trip is going to be a heroing experience. I am taking the kids and the dog and going it alone. I feel lucky that I have enough confidence in my kids and our dog that I could plan this trip and not be totally freaked out. I am sure we are bound to have our moments, but I am also sure that the girls are going to do EVERYTHING they can to make sure this trip goes well... I told them that if it did not we would not be making anymore trips like this ever. They are also aware that I planned some fun stuff for them along the way and that I wouldn't make them sit through torture and not do something fun. I event booked a hotel with an indoor pool for them and have told them to pack their pool stuff.
I have (slowly, but surely) been getting things together, mostly snacks and entertainment for the trip, but I did laundry last night, so tonight or tomorrow I will pack all of the clothes up and then we will be almost ready to leave. Friday night everything is getting packed into the truck, I plan to leave EARLY Saturday morning, like I want to be on the road by 6am. Toad is NOT a morning person, she will be a cranky mess. Monkey will just be whiny, but hopefully they will crash back out for a couple of hours. I also have to pack up all of the dog's stuff, blankets, pillow, toys, food, treats, extra poop bags, leash, harness, and bandanna...oh and his crate.
Well I guess I am going to sit and enjpy the inability to do anything for the trip while I sit here at work and I will post pictures of the trip when I can.

Cinnamon rolls and Magnets (yes you read that right)

2011-03-27T22:52:00.000-04:00

The house smells awesome and my table is covered in adorable magnets! I made Cinnamon rolls from scratch this morning. They are delish, and they look awesome too.

It's ok to drool a little. I did. These were such a big hit I have been asked to make them again.
So on the the next task, after some serious cleaning of our patio (they will be starting patio inspections tomorrow) I started making magnets. They are super cute and fairly easy to make.
check them out for yourself, the first picture is my coffee table with the mess all over and they other 2 are the unfinished and finished magnets.

Well it is off to sleep for this tired crafter.
good night world. I will post more in the morning on the process for making the magnets. They are just too cute not to have.

Smells of fresh bread...

2011-03-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

WOW! I have my first ever loaf of fresh bread cooling right now. It was a long process but I am sure it was worth every minute. Surprisingly I didn't get near as messy as I usually get when I bake, I only had a bit of flour on my hands and it little bit on my left elbow. I wish you all could smell this.
So I have included a few pictures. First is while it was in the oven... Second is after it was pulled out and I gave it a quick coat of butter.

If this bread tastes even half as good as it smells and looks it will be amazing. It is really hard not to cut into it tonight, well, I might just try a little piece.
I think I will try and find some more recipes for different breads to try.
goodnight all.

Anger and peanut butter cookies..

2011-03-24T18:05:00.000-04:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It feels good to get that out.
I had a pretty awesome day yesterday only to have it end on a rough note. My truck broke down last night...
I don't know how much it will be to fix or when it will be fixed. I am taking it to the shop tomorrow, but they say they are too busy to get to it until monday. I have an idea of what it is, but it doesn't matter because none of it is good(or even remotely close to good). So, in my angry state last night I baked, Peanut Butter Cookies. I hadn't planned really to make them last night, I had thought about it, but wanted to shower and relax last night. Call me Angry baker. I usually have to find something to do when I am pissed off about something, cleaning is usually it. (only because it always needs to be done) It felt good to bake instead.
I prepped the dough, covered it and put it in the fridge to sit, took a shower and by the time I was making the dough balls and putting fork prints on them I felt like a different person. Well, maybe not different, but less angry than I had been. The cookies were awesome, even Max liked them. Poor dog had to smell all of this peanut butter and couldn't have any until I was done...lol (peanut butter is his fav)

I plan on making bread tomorrow night. I think it's time to find a job at a bakery. I think I am also going to try and teach the girls to make a few things, maybe they can help me make bread tomorrow after work.

Cake and dog treats...

2011-03-22T12:51:00.001-04:00

YAY! After an extremely busy weekend I am back. Exhausted, but content with my progress. I (of course) worked, took the kids to swim, did some shopping at A.C. Moore and did some baking. While I will never be a home wrecker, I will always be a diet wrecker. I bought a few new pans while at A.C. Moore and wanted to test them, as well as bake a cake for a friend who just moved into a new home. I pulled out some old cook books and got to work figuring out what I wanted to do. Something basic yet indulgent was the goal and I think I managed it perfectly.

A double layer chocolate cake with an amazingly light and fluffy buttercream frosting and semi-sweet chocolate shavings on top. It is pure awesomeness. Completely from scratch, this cake taught me a couple of things:
1. I NEED a stand mixer. No wants about it, at this point it is a NEED. My poor hand mixer almost died.
2. I need a sifter, like a real, larger size sifter. using my little one it took almost 40 minutes to sift all of the dry ingredients
3. When done right, simple is great.
I ended up making 2 cakes, one a true double layer with 2, 9" round cakes and the other I used one cake but cut it in half and made it 2 layer that way. The smaller of the 2 I kept for home while the other was packaged awesomely and prepped for our friend who moved.

On a foil covered round of cardboard and in a cake box. I added pink star clusters to hers. She came down to ride with me to our body pump class and I gave her the cake. She was surprised and happy all at once. She agrees that I am a diet wrecker, but she loves it. Splurging is ok once in awhile, just can't do it everyday, I am also a firm believer that home made from scratch is always better for you. I can pronounce everything in the cake and frosting, while most of the box stuff, you don't know half of what is actually in it.

I spent most of yesterday hanging out with Crankybear. We had to take my truck back to Firestone. Sunday night I was leaving Walmart and the truck started beeping like crazy and my indicator light said "low brake fluid". So we took it back to Firestone since they just did the brakes a few weeks ago and they said that the washers were bad. They fixed it and for free, but we had a lot of time to kill. We went to Petco and got some treats for the dog and a new collar. I love clearance deals and especially when it's for pet stuff, so I found an awesome little tub of Gourmet Dog Treats for $2. They are cranberry and flax biscotti made with wheat flour, eggs, dried cranberries, and flax. Nothing fancy, but the dog loves them and so does Monkey.

Yes, this is a picture of our dog(eating the biscotti) and Monkey (eating the biscotti) and the cat looking jealous. Monkey is willing to try just about anything and she thought by the looks of the container that the treats were for her and Toad, but was shocked when I said they were for the dog. After reading the ingredient list I let her know that she could try one if she wanted and she squealed with glee. A crunchy minute later she was raving about how good they were and asked for another...lol She promised to share with the dog, as I had originally bought them for him.

Spray paint and Goodwill

2011-03-14T20:52:00.001-04:00

What a busy day!!! I dropped the kids off at school and decided to go poke around the Goodwill Store that is conveniently down the street. I like wondering around goodwill, you never know what you might find. I usually don't buy anything, but sometimes there is something that catches your eye for one of two reasons: 1. it is awesome just as it is and with a quick scrub you have found treasure...and 2. it has the potential to be awesome with a coat of paint and a DIY ability to change it up a little. Today was a treasure day. I not only found a couple of awesome pieces that just needed a quick (or long) scrub, I also found a great piece of potential awesomeness.
First the new fruit bowl, needed a good scrub, but is beautiful and will work wonderfully.

New fruit bowl cost $1 and about 5 min of washing.
NEXT-- new hair tie bin/holder. We were using an old easter basket to hold hair ties and brushes, but this is so much prettier.

New hair tie bowl cost $2, tarnx to take it from BLACK back to silver $4 and about a half hour of time.
Now last but not least the new mirror. I saw this and instantly saw how awesome it could be...

Cornflower blue, faded, and pretty ugly but nothing I can't fix. I picked up some black spray paint and went to town...

Unfortunately there was something wrong with the can so it sprayed EVERYWHERE...lol a big mess, but I still managed to get the job done.

Now it matches most of the other picture frames in the house and it will be duel duty. I bought some cabinet handles (little round ones) that a brushed steel (plain but very nice) and I will put them on the bottom and use them as hangers for my keys. I am always laying my keys down somewhere and I can never find them, I wanted to find something that was decorative but I could hang keys on, now I have it. I plan to hang this on the wall by the front door somewhere. It will be awesome.

2011-03-14T07:44:00.000-04:00

It's been a couple of days, that bruise is getting better and things have been busy around here. Friday night was awesome. We went out to dinner at Red Lobster with Crankybear's mom, sister, and nephew. We were celebrating his sister's b-day. It was awesome to get out with everyone and have a nice night. Hopefully we can do it again soon. Aren't they a cute bunch?! That would be Crankybear, mom and sister in the picture.

We had an uneventful weekend, the kids had swim, we didn't do much. Today isn't too eventful, Toad has an endocrinologist appointment this afternoon and Monkey has dance class tonight. Crankybear is working and I really have to get the ceiling fan cleaned off and laundry done today. wow fun.

Grab your sensor bars!!!

2011-03-11T07:37:00.000-05:00

You get to see a peek of my thigh! LOL

The other day while at a local grocery store some woman tried to run me down with her shopping cart, in an effort to avoid a painful hit with cart I swerved. I swerved right into a free standing, refrigerated cheese case with none other than my thigh. It hurt, but I kept walking and didn't pay much attention to it til that night while I was at Zumba class. What a bruise?!?!?! This all happened Wednesday and as of this morning it still looks nasty. In the picture you can't see it, but there is a large painful knot under this bruise.
Hopefully it will get better sooner, rather than later, but in the mean time....
Enjoy my thigh. lol

Rant, rant, rant...

2011-03-10T11:27:00.000-05:00

People are always talking about why this country is falling apart, the causes for the economic hardship, the reason this country is on a fast track to nowhere. I hear a lot of mess about politics, excuses, and blame, but the one thing I don't ever hear is the truth. I know that there are MANY factors contributing to why this country is falling apart, I would like to focus on just one today. Call it what you will, I call it " A Lack Of Work Ethic" ALOWE for short. This encompasses the self serving, instant gratification, "what can I get for nothing" attitude that a great many have ingrained into them from a young age. It is sad and unfortunate that there are so many people that would do just about anything to get by without having to actually put any effort into it.

These people with "ALOWE" are those people you work with that: show up late (and don't care), that don't care about the quality of work, that don't actually do any real work(until someone important is looking), that will take credit for the work that you did, that talk insane amounts of crap about you(how lazy you are, and what a crappy job you do when you do something).

VERY easy to identify this group. It doesn't take long for them to show their true colors when someone higher up isn't around. These folks also show a complete lack of respect for anyone or anything else.

These are the people that are causing a great deal of trouble. The come in all forms, and are not only a drain on the community, work place, government, and people around them, they are a drain on co-workers sanity.

Hopefully in time we can out-number these "ALOWE Civilians", make this country a better place, and bring back all those jobs that got out-sourced to countries where people don't mind a little hard work(they actually tend to thrive on it). There is nothing wrong with a bit of hard work, anything worth having takes effort. Sacrifices have to be made and while I would love to sacrifice the folks who coast through life doing little to nothing to get by and taking credit for the work that others have done, it is illegal. I think that falls under that "it's illegal to kill stupid people" thing.

So, here's to hard work, a great work ethic, trying your best, and not bring loaded weapons to work.

Just call me diet wrecker...

2011-03-09T21:43:00.000-05:00

I LOVE TO BAKE. I can't help that I am great at making food that is not approved for any diet. I decided today that since I didn't feel like doing anything else I would bake a treat for girl scouts. Now awhile back I had made some crappy brownies out of a box and they were just terrible really, so today I made Rocky Road Brownies. From scratch. Amazing. The girl scouts loved them and so did everyone else who has tried them. I love them.

These brownies(while heavenly) are not on ANY approved diet except the "see food" diet (you see it, you eat it). A thick cake brownie with mini marshmallows, and chocolate drizzle, and on some salted peanuts. I dirtied a lot of dishes and had powdered sugar and flour all over myself but it was so worth it.

These pictures don't do them justice, unfortunately for you all, you will have to imagine how good they are.

Good night all. Sweet Dreams (of my brownies, bwahahahaha)

I can has brain transplant?!?!

2011-03-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

The pediatrician has been a thorn in my side for some time now, but unfortunately with insurance and this clinic run the way it is I am left with very few options. I was thinking if we could just stay away unless there was no other choice that we could get by, but I am seeing now that I really have to find another answer...

The most recent attack on my sanity by this woman came tonight. I had called Friday of last week and asked that a letter be faxed to the school nurse stating that Monkey is lactose intolerant so that she could have 2 juices with her lunch instead of milk. Thankfully Monday morning the nurse said she had the letter and would handle it. Now at this point I am thinking that this quack doctor finally got her crap together and is doing what we need her to do, I thought to soon. Tonight I come home to find a letter on the table from the clinic, again I think "cool they sent me a copy too", again thought too soon. I open it to find (yes) a copy of the letter that was faxed to the nurse. Now I know you are probably thinking "what is wrong with this?" well nothing, until you read the letter. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. And I quote--

Ms. (nurse's name)
Our school

This letter is to notify that my patient Monkey Face has lactose intolerance, she only can has free lactose products.
Feel free to call meif you have any question.
Sincerely,
SCRIBBLE(docs name)
TYPED(docs name)

My only response at this moment is MICROSOFT HAS SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECK!!!

Success!!!

2011-03-08T07:34:00.000-05:00

I know it's silly, but I love to bake just so I can watch the enjoyment of the family and friends I share it with.
So without further adu.....

I had cake and coffee for breakfast and the kids had cake and fruit for breakfast. Well I am off to get ready for work. Happy "Fat Tuesday"/ Mardi Gras.

Just as I expected...

2011-03-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

I love Mondays. It went exactly as I expected. lol

I talked to Toad's teacher, it was an edited version of the song played in class, and she was honest about the lyrics no being edited until after they were printed because she was unable to find an edited version. It was a nice little chat, but I explained my concerns and it seems as though everything is ok with the world.

Crankybear and I had an awesome breakfast at Chick-fil-a then headed out to Wegman's to do a little shopping and poking around. I love Wegman's. We looked around at everything we could and still didn't make it through the whole store. While I was wondering around I found an end cap dedicated to New Orleans. They had mixes and fixins for Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread, Gumbo, King Cake, and many more. I decided to get something and with tomorrow being "fat tuesday" and officially Mardi Gras, I thought the King Cake would be best. (plus probably the only thing the kids would like) As I type the King Cake is in the oven, and I am excited. I love to bake, and I miss New Orleans.

After our Wegman's excursion we headed home, to put away all of our goodies....well the goodies we got for the kids..lol. I managed to convince Crankybear to come with me to the storage unit to grab the couple of things we needed. It was good that I took him, it would have taken double the time if I had gone alone. Got what we needed and then stopped at Walmart. I got my coffee creamer, some applesauce, and dinner.

I didn't get the vacuuming done that I wanted, but I picked up the kids and let Monkey make dinner and help with the King Cake. She cooked an awesome dinner (chicken alfredo) and after dinner I dropped her at dance class. With her at dance it was time for me to get my but kicked so I headed over to the gym for a body pump class.

All in all it has been a great day, I don't want to go to work tomorrow, but I guess I will survive.

So it isn't done yet, but.....

Goodnight all. see you in the morning.

2011-03-07T07:41:00.000-05:00

I don't usually work Mondays, but I am still up early and getting the kids ready for school, I still have a bunch of stuff to get done, and it still always feels like I don't get anything done at all. Today will be no different. I will try to get as much done as possible, it will seem like I got nothing accomplished, and tonight that will be ok. There are a couple of things that I must get done today. I have to vacuum, and stop at the store to get coffee creamer.
The floor looks a mess, and I want to vacuum off the ceiling fan, the coffee creamer can't wait, if I don't go today then tomorrow I won't have any for my coffee. I also need to stop at the storage unit and grab a couple of things. Who knows what else I will do today.

The first thing I am doing is taking a few minutes to talk to Toad's teacher about the inappropriate song choice in class.
I think I found just the picture to describe the day

Hope everyone has an uneventful monday.

Sunday Comics!!!!

2011-03-06T08:40:00.000-05:00

I felt the need to lighten up, so here is some Garfield. I am thinking I may need to start getting the Sunday paper, $2 would be worth the comics and ads/coupons.

I have some coffee running through my veins, read some great comics, and now must get ready for work. At least (if I must work on a Sunday) it's only 4 hours, hopefully I will get some time to work on a great slouchy hat I am crocheting. Enjoy the day folks!

Giraffes?!?!

2011-03-05T23:02:00.001-05:00

Yup, a giraffe. I have crocheted a great many things, scarves, hats, slippers, purses, wallets, blankets, and the list goes on. For as much fun as I have had with all of that, I think I have had far more fun with animals lately. In an effort to create something different I started with one animal and due to the sensitive nature that is gift giving, I can't post it yet, but the second has been just as much fun and both were very quick and easy. Wait for it....

So, adorable right?! I know, I know, he is missing his spots. I was too busy at work tonight to get them stitched on and now I am too tired to bother with it. They will be put on tomorrow. Toad has asked me to make a dragon. I found an awesome pattern I like, but it looks as if it were written by an incompetent hobo with a crayon. We will see how it turns out though, I can't wait to get started on it. I have to go by the storage unit and get my plastic tote full of crochet stuff and yarn. There is some bright green yarn that would make a great dragon. Monkey is asking for my giraffe.(and whatever else I make and want to give to her) She hasn't made any requests for any particular animal herself though. Maybe after some sleep and a strong cup of coffee I will have to motivation to finish with the giraffe spots and then I can get a start on Toad's dragon.
I am off to sleep. Good Night world.