It's True Guys..........

....Size really DOES matter!

Love Blooms

Today is our 20th Wedding Anniversary! What a legacy of love it's been since...

Us in 1986

Blooms from dh this morning

I combined the two for fun

Told Ya......

....I always get my man!

Reading Writing and Arithmetic...

Love the first day of school!

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Freshly sharpened pencils

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Cheesy Smiles!

New Backpacks.......in PINK!

And the big high school boy

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Where is he, you say?

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Oh, that's right - he's too cool to take Back-To-School Pictures

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Stay tuned - I always get my man!

Perfect Form!

We've arrived! Survived a move during the most grueling week of heat this summer. The main house is unpacked and we appear to be settled in. The garage and basement are still full of unpacked boxes but those are mainly dh's toys (i.e. don't expect to see them organized for at least a year).

We love the new neighborhood and even MORE, I'm loving meeting my sister for spur of the moment shopping jaunts and pedicures like the other day. We just keep giggling every time we get together.

Kids begin school in less than two weeks and there is still much to do, but for now, we're just having a little summer fun and enjoying our new digs.

This is a picture of my youngest son who is a natural gymnast. I think he has great form, don't you?

Flavor of the Day.........

Your Icecream Flavour is...Neopolitan!

You aren't satisfied with just one flavor. They say variety is the spice of life and this shines through in your Ice cream of choice! Just don't eat all the chocolate and leave the strawberry and vanilla behind!

What is your Icecream Flavour?

Find out at Go Quiz

Boxes and Poxes....

We're getting increasingly buried in boxes. The countdown to moving is now 5 days to moving truck and 6 days to closing and actual move-in!!!

We're making progress, and after today, the kitchen will be officially 'closed', eating only from disposable stuff.

So, N2 approached me yesterday and we had an interesting conversation. It went something like this:

N2: What's this spot?
me: What spot?
N2: This one (pointing to his neck)
me: dunno, does it itch at all?
N2: No.............none of them itch...
me: NONE of them?????

N2 proceeds to show off his chest which was harboring about 8-10 Chicken pox!!! He was in denial for a day, telling me he's too old for pox LOL (he's 10).

Today they've progressed into full blown POXES. He's got a fever and they are in his mouth and throat. We've dotted him with Calamine lotion, bathed him in oatmeal, and gargled him in Benadryl. He's bummed he can't attend the last week of summer day camp with his brother and sister. I won't embarrass him here with pictures but he resembles something like this....

He's a keeper.........

I had a really rough day yesterday. I came down to my computer this morning to find these........

.....Need I say more?

A good thing......

Go here, type in any word or phrase and get something like this!

Picks backgrounds/colors/images at random so keep trying until you get something you like.

Don't TUNE me out...

My husband thinks iPods are the work of the devil....

Not really, but it does concern him a bit when he sees all the Stepford-like white wires coming from everyone's ears. 'Where's the individuality in that?'

He refuses to get one for this very reason. Nevermind the fact that he doesn't really know how to use one.

I don't know if you've seen the commercial with the guy jogging with a boombox on his shoulder? -- I laugh because every time I see it, I can imagine my husband doing this! I forget what they are even advertising .......anyway, dh saw the commercial and SO didn't get the humor of it all.

Soooooo, getting back to the iPod -- dh doesn't want one, doesn't know how to use one and, frankly, doesn't care if you have one or not....it's just not him.

THIS, however IS him.......his new toy!

All you 'real' men may now collectively do the man-grunt.......

We now interrupt MY LIFE to bring you.....

....a few of my favorite things....







You may now resume your normal programming schedule...

A label by any other name.....

I was at the auto body shop this morning and had some time on my hands to people watch AND think. A dangerous combo, really. The guys at the body shop had uniforms with the company name embroidered on the left side and their names on the right side. So, I got to thinking..... you'll never see a company with all women wearing their title/company and name embroidered for all to see. It must be a 'guy' thing.

I watched "Barry" answer the phone while signing off on paperwork brought in by 'Bob' from 'ABC Auto Parts'. Interestingly, not one word was exchanged. Even more interesting was that I understood the entire transaction merely by reading their shirts! At least 3 more similar transactions took place with barely a spoken word or even a handshake.

Hmmmm -- men don't really like to waste words as a rule. Did they invent this whole 'labeling' system to save words? Maybe this allows them to conserve conversation during the work day so they can spend their 'word bank' with their families when they go home for the day?

Would this work at home? Imagine 'Barry' going home and greeting labeled 'Sue', 'Wife of Barry', and 'Jimmy', 'Son of Sue & Barry' without any verbal exchange. It could happen......

......maybe these type uniforms should be worn by employess at public libraries to keep down on all the noise?

Only 23 days until we move!!! ACKCKCKCKK, the month is slip sliding away from me at lightening speed!

Just in case you're all wondering what I've been up to lately?


Purging and Packing.

Today is the 4th of July so, in honor of the holiday, I'm shaking things up a bit and today I will be Packing and Purging.

When you've lived life as long as me, you learn you need to shake things up once-in-a-while to make things interesting...

It's not May...

So it must be MY birthday! Had a nice day, dh made dinner and there was chocolate cake. What more can a girl ask for?

House Inspection Today

Our Village inspection is today! My dh was dutifully finishing up the last of the 'known' things on our hit list yesterday. Most of them required being on a ladder in the 'just-enough-to-be-annoying' rain.

The inspector is the last person who HAS to come in the house, so after this morning we are in the 'official' packing phase!

We spent 4 hours last night at the dentist for our bi-annual visit to get the six of us all buffed, polished and minty fresh. Noah made a family history first -- a minor cavity!! You have to know him to understand why this sent me running from the room. My resident 'bleed-o-phobic' did well - it wasn't deep enough to require Novacaine, and our dentist is a gem with the kids, so we all survived and I think Noah 'may' be paying a little more attention to his teeth from now on.

As a side note, our dentist treated us to our favorite pizza for dinner as a housewarming gift. Told ya he was a gem!

A self-confessed Coffee Snob

I like coffee. Okay, I can't live without it. Once, I had to fast before some blood tests, and I think I was having withdrawals by 8am without my cup of Joe. It was all for a good cause, no? Imagine my dismay when the doctor decided HE didn't think I needed bloodwork after all? HOW RUDE. Hey Mr. MD!! If you're going to make me give up my morning jolt, you had BETTER draw blood or else!!! Okay, I was gone for a sec, but I'm back. See? That's what I mean. I can't live without it. And more importantly, I don't wanna!

I don't gamble, drink in excess or swear (much). I don't even drink coffee in public too often. I'm a closet addict. Oh and it has begun to annoy me when people I know say they don't like coffee. I'm so passionate about it, I guess I just want to convert all my tea drinking buddies to the 'dark bean' side.

On my itty bitty kitchen counter you will find ONE Starbucks Grande Aroma Barrista 12 cup coffee maker, ONE Starbucks Barrista burr grinder, ONE Krups cappuccino/espresso maker, a pitcher for steaming foam, a sugar dispenser, a raw sugar dispenser and an assortment of Starbucks mugs in the cabinet above -- oh and don't forget the constant supply of whipping cream within an arm's reach in the fridge.

It's ALL about the coffee here!

You're so vain...........

Are we born with a natural tendency to vanity? If a little girl is constantly told how pretty she is, will she grow up to be a vain woman? Or is vanity something hardwired like a good sense of direction?











My 'Vanity' plates arrived in the mail yesterday. Funny name for an object that identifies a vehicle. Does this make me vain? Does it make my car feel better about itself?


These beauties don't need to be told they are pretty to shine in all their natural splendor. No complaints -- No low self esteem -- No need to be encouraged to become what God intended them to be. No vanity required!

Home Sweet Home

We're moving! We're actually moving!!! Just got the call we've been waiting for. The sellers have agreed to our requests from the inspection and we're D-O-N-E negotiating with the inhabitants of bizarro world!

I can't believe I'm so excited about packing up 11 years worth of stuff but we're actually moving!!!

I feel like I'm exhaling for the first time in weeks.

Did I mention we're moving?

Dangerous Curves

Her daddy took one look at these and said "we're in trouble". This is what happens when you allow 'pink' in the house.