awards....take 2

Diana was nice enough to name me as a blogger who makes her happy....

Rules:
First, I have to list 10 things that make me happy. Then I get to pass the goodness and the award to other bloggers who make me happy.


I was blessed to be given 2 awards in the same week!
haha, that posted before I was ready!!
Let's try that again...




Evansmom was the sweetie who gave me this award.

Rules:
1. Put the logo in my post or within my blog.
2. Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within my post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blogs.
5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award

Pop Quiz!

What do these pictures all have in common???








Bonus question:
Can you name all the places in that first picture including BOTH types of flowers??


Answers on Tuesday <- that's a hint people.

It's friday!!!!

Created by Mrs 4444, Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post.


Oh boy am I looking forward to my 5 nights off! I'm taking PTO so I don't have to work on my birthday. It's a gift I give myself most years.



I passed an 18 wheeler truck. On the back was "Carpet Designated Trailer"...made me wonder...are they ONLY allowed to move carpets in that truck?...Is it carpeted inside??....just WHAT does that mean??


All of a sudden I'm getting emails about joining AARP. Good Grief! I know my birthday is on Tuesday, but they're about 20 years EARLY!!


I visited everyone's blog last night. I didn't leave any comments because I was tired and hurting. But I really did come by. I promise to leave comment for everyone over the weekend.

My birthday gift from hubby..... (not really, but since we only have 1 computer it COULD be.)

G'night Blogland.

answering questions

I'm not sure why...but I haven't answered your comment questions in awhile...so, let me try and catch up.

If you have any more questions you'd like answered then leave them in the comments and I'll do another Q&A post.


Diane, yes, I bought the trains because I've always wanted one and thought the kids were just the right age to let me play with them! However, Subvet got hooked after I started setting them up...and now he can't seem to stop buying more coolness to add to the track. Honestly, the man's having way too much fun trying to see what crazy things he can do with this track! In his defense I will say that the kids L.O.V.E. when they wake up to find a new and exciting track all ready to be played on. And it is only by watching us "fix" the places where the track breaks that the kids have started to build their own tracks. So, I say, let the man build!


Diana, we don't get much snow....but they call a "snow day" for the slightest sign of ice....hubby says it has something to do with crazy Texas drivers not being smart enough to slow down in bad weather...I'd argue...but we ARE the ones who have to tell people over and over "do not drive into the water running across the roads...you will be washed away" and yet a couple times every year some fool's on the news trying to steer his car-boat.

diana said...
what's up with forgetting the camera!? you need to have that in your possession at all times - for times such as a party and beads =)

I know! I know! and the kids at the party were soooo cute with more beads than they had neck to hold em! sigh.


Lori in South Dakota said...
I promise not to mail you any c*******e!

You'd beter not! We're still working our way through the bag you sent last time!


In regards to my Lenten sacrifices, diana said...
it's got to get easier... right?

(haha... the security word i have to type in is... buttspit)


Since it has NOT gotten any easier a week in I'm saying buttspit it accurate! I like that word. buttspit. I may have to incorporate it into my personal jargon. buttspit. almost bullshit but nicer. buttspit. Then you have to think....WHAT IS buttspit??? teeheehee.. (yes, I'm a nurse and we're weird.)

Linda said...
That is one humongous bit of track you've got going on there! Looks like your living room has been converted over to Grand Central Station!

can you even imagine how hard it is to dance in my living room now? I tell you, it's a good thing I've joined the gym!!

diana said...
i've been meaning to mention how much i think sugars has grown. your recent pics of her shows her looking older and different in her appearance.

is that your track or subvet's?

it's his and it lasted over 48 hours!! We think the extra switch track package he bought really made a difference! You gotta stay on your toes with our 3 engines or there'll be a big ol trainwreck! (he's talking about getting more engines now....) And her 3rd birthday is NEXT WEEK.....yikes.

in regards to my birthday being during Lent and my giving up sweets for Lent, ellen b. said...
Don't you get Sundays off? You could celebrate your birthday on a Sunday...Am I helping or hindering?

although SOME folks (ahem, like Subvet) call it "cheating" you can call a truce on the Lenten sacrifices on Sundays. Since I realized my birthday issue I decided that I would join the heathens smart people and take Sundays off. And I certainly plan on celebrating not only MY birthday...but also Sugars and Gators birthdays (all of whom are in March) on Sundays! I may celebrate St Patrick's Day on a Sunday too and then we have a party for every Sunday in March A-HA-HA-HAAAAA!!! ;-)

Harry said...
Wait a minute? What's with that silly mechanical contraption? Get back to the sweets! More cake pictures!

hear! hear! I agree.


Mary Ellen said....
Not sure what that machine is. It's not your typical elliptical, it looks like a fancy version of the HealthRider...sorta.

it's a recumbent bicycle. and it gets my heartrate up without threatening the tachycardia that I have. Which is what happened when I tried the elliptical. But it's MORE boring than watching the grass grow. Which is how it got named Blasted Boring Beastly Bike. From now on I will only refer to it as BBBB.


Okay folks. Anything else you'd like to know?? burning questions you've been afraid to ask??

Trying not to whine

Okay, so here's my lunch.






and here's my after dinner date.





whine snivel whine snivel.



shew. glad I got that out of my system.

Those homemade pretzels of hubbys are out of this world yummy! And those are the last 2 of them. I'm SURE HOPING he'll make some more soon (hint...HINT)

And while I can't have any more of the fantastic Banana Pudding he made Sunday (cuz, yes, it'll be gone by this Sunday) the left over bananas are just perfectly ripe.

I made it to the gym twice this weekend and each time I managed 6 *miles* on my new friend/enemy BBBB. (Blasted Boring Beastly Bike)

6 *miles* is a good excuse for a long hot bubble bath. I may have to visit BBBB more often so I can hide out soak my legs regularly.

*miles* is * *'d because hubby and I aren't exactly sure that the machines at the gym measure distance in miles. I'm calling it miles regardless....because I hurt too bad to have only gone 6 kilometers!!

I didn't set goals for this weekend and therefore didn't get hardly anything done. Go figure.


So my goals for next week are to

1) thoroughly enjoy my 35th birthday.

2) get extra snuggles from Sugars on her 3rd birthday.

3) finish my shorts (I'm about 1/2 way there).

4) work on Gator's footprints.

5) visit BBBB 3 times each time going 6.5-7 *miles*


Tune in next week to see how I did.

So what about you? What are your whines/goals for the week???

An excellent read

Sherry has hit the nail on the head in her post about Truth, Blogging and Stories....take a look.

This was a BAAAD PLAN!!

So, it occured to me last night.


I have given up sweets for Lent.....and MY BIRTHDAY is during Lent!!!

What was I THINKING????!!!!



In other news....last night I made it 6 miles on this blasted boring beast!

pics

I wanted to show you the ONLY track so far that has lasted longer than a couple of hours...



it's been over 24 hours now and this track is still up and running! I think it's all the extra switches....keeps the kids engaged.




More obligatory cuteness.

I don't know if I should title this one Squaw Sugars or My Flower Child........

And so it begins.

Lent has started......

Sonshine's homework yesterday said to take a handful of M&Ms and make a graph out of how many you got of each color.

So, Yesterday morning at work I had to buy a bag of M&Ms from the vending machine...AND NOT OPEN THEM.....

This morning right after breakfast he and I sat at the table and sorted M&Ms. Then I gave some to each kid....put down the small handful that was left over....and quickly stuck the untouched half bag into Sonshine's lunchbox.


shew.....temptation avoided.




At lunch today as I sat next to Gator-boy he decided to share his lunch with me.....which was fine.....

till he stuck his HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE (yes, one of Subvet's famous cookies!!!) RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE and said "Here Momma, HERE!"...........

when he wouldn't take no for an answer I had to leave the room.



Methinks it's going to be a loooooong Lent.

38.5 days left to go, sigh.

So, how'd you do so far??

can't say it better, so I won't try.

For the record. I am giving up "sweets" for Lent...and drinking more (which means any, cuz any is more than none) water. This means, if you start talking about chocolate I WILL get cranky.



Mary Ellen, aka Nunly over at The Bad Habit has put up a wonderful post explaining the whys of Lenten sacrifice....read it and see if you don't think twice about these next few weeks before Easter.

go on and read it....


I double dare ya.

friday frags...yeah, I know it's not friday yet.

Created by Mrs 4444, Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post.


hubby's King Cake turned out wonderful! But I forgot to take any pictures. And the box of beads was SOOO FULL that I just took the box and let the kids at the party dig through them. The biggest hits were the really long strands of huge beads! They were a blast and I left the party with a box STILL half full of beads....so I brought them to work with me tonight for us to play with. I mean who DOESN'T love some BEADS??!!

Oh, and yeah, I completely forgot to take my camera to the party....again. sigh.





you know the call

"extra extra read all about it!" ???

the other day Sonshine was sitting in the living room in that same tone saying "X-ray X-ray, Sonshine's a big boy!" I just about busted a rib trying not to laugh out loud!


So, the snow's all melted except for what used to be snowmen....some enterprising neighborhood kid rang our doorbell today to ask if he could have our snow. Hubby told him no.


you know how many people saw my beads at work and said "yeah, Mardi Gras is coming up here soon isn't it...." uh...like TONIGHT! yeah.

snow day activities....

the kids do this on their own.....


there was playdough in the morning...but I forgot to get a picture of that.


the card game started this way:

and ended like this:

reading time....

whac-a-mole

coloring while doing The Listening Program....

listen real closely and see if you can guess what song she's listening too

my creation while Subvet was busy making a King Cake for the party we're going to tonight.....I'll try to remember to get a pic of the cake and my bowl of beads (THANKS AUNT BETSY!!) and shots of our party to post tomorrrow.

and, of course, we spent time with Merrie Melodies.

All in all we've really enjoyed our snow days!

Tea Time again!

This Tea Party is hosted by Ruth at Celebrate Friendship. Stop by and tell her hi!



I'm having.... Berry Zinger with a spoon of sugar! yumm!


My teacup....
is my favorite!



On my mind..... Holy Crap, there's SNOW outside!!! and thank the Good Lord a) I didn't have to work last night and b) I have a friend who lives close to work who'd already offered me a place to stay today in case of bad weather.


I'm feeling.... happy to be playing with my family today.

more snow pics with measurements.....

for the record, I have never ever ever in my whole life heard snow "crunch" under my feet when I walked....or walked ONLY on snow that packed as I stepped down....I mean, I wasn't even walking on the GROUND out there!!!

I was glad that I have a "thing" about buying all leather sneakers to wear to work, I'll bet all those girls I work with that wear mesh topped shoes have some wet, cold feet!!


hubby said, "now all we have to do is wait for the snowplow to come through..."
HAHAHAHA!!!!


(the high tomorrow is 51)

damn George Bush and his Global Warming!!!!

As of 6pm last night




as of 11pm last night

as of 7:30am this morning....which is the time I'd be leaving work were I not cancelled last night








you might want to be thinking about all those things you said you'd do when "it'll be a cold day in hell before...." because, well, if THIS is what Texas looks like.....................................


"If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell” is a famous statement of U.S. General Philip Henry Sheridan in 1866.

Goals.

1) make the swim shorts - well, I got the pattern cut out...next time I'm off I'll sew them together

2) refill snuggleometer - :-)

3) get to gym 3 times - I made it once. The other time I went the place was unbelievably packed. I couldn't even find a parking spot!! You would think people would be AT WORK at 9am....

4) get this soup made
- oh boy it was sooo yummy!! hubby froze about half of it :-)

5) finish making Gator's newborn footprints! - nope. not a thing on this one.


No goals for next weekend because I only have 2 nights off before I go back for another 3 nights of work. Saturday is jam packed with things to do all day long too! So I'll wait and make goals next week.

How about you? have any goals for the weekend?

thoughts anyone??

oh whoa is me! What have they done??!!



this error message came up when I prematurely clicked on post comment the other day....I'm thinking I"ll make it the new motto of my blog!

"comment should not be empty"

Geaux Saints! Who Dat?!

well, I got invited to watch the Super Bowlin 12 different states!! I never knew I had so many friends! Thanks guys, what a way to make a gal feel loved.

The Jen formerly known as Pinky who lives just down the road a piece invited me to her house. A huge Thank You to Jen for the invitation. However, in looking over all the things I needed to get done today I was unable to take 4 hours off to go and watch the game.

HOWEVER, Evansmom gave me play by play facebook updates to rival any sportscaster! It reminded me of the stories of listening to baseball games over the radio...facebook style. Thanks a zillion Evansmom! You're the best.

I made it to the gym in time to watch the post game show. But found it hard to read the closed captioning and watch the plays at the same time haha...maybe I should figure out how that whole headphone on the bike thing works....

What a fun time for all Saints fans!


**************************************************************************


A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had
great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked
her how she liked the experience. 'Oh, I really liked it,' she replied,
'especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't
understand why they were killing each other over the 25 cents.'
Dumbfounded, her date asked, 'What do you mean?' 'Well, they flipped a
coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept
screaming was: 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm
like...Hellooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!

Master Tracklayer.

And now you can see what we do in the evenings for fun!

Here are Subvet's latest creations.






Every night is a new creation........

And now for the obligatory cuteness!

What do you think Gator's built?

It a boy!

the can is "toes"

the glitter ball is "head"

the playdough is "hair"

the playdough can lid is "hat"

So there you go!

Enjoy your ball game!

Anyone seen a White Rabbit lately?

Sherry's written yet another spot on fantastic post about our current state of affairs, please go and check it out! Tell her I sent you.

hello again

Created by Mrs 4444, Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post.


I've kinda been ignoring the blog in favor of facebook here lately.

I'm not sure why as I usually don't do well with short "updates". I tend to talk too much for that.

Here I am at my last night of work and she's a real doozy. Fortunately, it is the LAST NIGHT and then I'm off till Tuesday.

So, I've put on facebook a plea for someone to let me come and watch the Superbowl at their house. A) I don't have TV B) it's the Saints C) it's a monumental game. D) it's the Saints.

So far I have been invited to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday at the following places:

Florida
New Hampshire
Tennesee
Colorado
Louisiana

I wish I could travel to them all and see each play in a different state!! hahaha.
As it is I will probably either try to watch online (if that's an option) or will just follow the facebook/blog updates as the game goes on. Which is fine really. It just strikes me as odd that in 5 years of being without TV this is the FIRST time there was actually something showing that I wanted to see.

In other news.....Sugars woke at 1am Monday night screaming "MINE!"....which leads me to wonder, since she has a room to herself, WHICH of her stuffed animals was trying to steal the covers??? I'm thinking the monkey has pretty shifty eyes....


And Subvet has STOLEN my title of Best Tracklayer!! I have pictures of the huge and intricate track he laid the other night, watch for them tomorrow! And yes, our new past-time in the evenings is setting up the tracks for the kids to find when they wake up. Hey! it's more fun than watching TV!!! ;-)




I'm joining a new meme. Since I had my teaparty I've been sampling all the teas that I bought for the party and really enjoying them!

This Tea Party is hosted by Ruth at Celebrate Friendship. Stop by and tell her hi!


I'm having.... Constant Comment "tea flavored with rind of oranges and sweet spice" this tea tastes almost like chia tea I add sugar and milk to all my non-fruit teas, but since I'm at work instead of milk I have non-dairy creamer.


My teacup.... is of the lovely styrofoam coffee cup variety.

On my mind..... I'm waiting to see if my backache will subside, I strained it pulling a large lady up in bed. Most times these things will work themselves out after a couple hours, time will tell.

I'm feeling.... tired, because it's my 3rd and last night of work this week, excited because it's my 3rd and last night of work this week.


"you can get glad in the same shoes you got mad in" Grandma Traver.