Back to my regularly scheduled programming.....

I'm good now. Thanks to those of you who emailed me and sent cheery thoughts. I really appreciated them! I'm fine now....really I am. I had a very good & productive day. I was supposed to get my Santa Fe inspected before the end of April but didn't. I tried last week but I couldn't find a place. I went to 4 different places one day thinking they'd do it but they didn't. I got tired of looking so put it off. I remembered yesterday when half of Fredericksburg remembered they needed to get theirs done too. The first place I went said there was a 2 hour wait. The second place said a 2.5 hour wait. The third place said a 3 hour wait so I gave up at that point and decided to go this morning instead. I'm glad I did because I was only there for about 45 minutes. After they inspected it they removed a pesky nail from one tire and a piece of metal from another. I'm not surprised, living out here in the sticks and all. I'm glad they noticed them. After I left there I finished up Joshua's b-day shopping. I can't believe he's gonna be 7 tomorrow! It seems like I just brought him home from the hospital. Every time I think about being in the hospital when I had him, I get so sad. I had my camera with 2 new rolls of film for everyone to take pictures for me. I don't know who ended up with my camera but can you believe not one single picture was taken of me with Joshua? There were a lot of pictures with Mike and him & Mike's family and him but not one single solitary picture of me and him. It breaks my heart every time I think about it. Obviously I couldn't take them myself. I didn't think to ask anyone to take pictures of me and my baby, I just assumed the dummies would know to do it.

While I was out I picked up a couple of picture frames for a couple of Mother's Day gifts. How great are these? I took my SD card and popped it in to one of those Kodak picture maker things at CVS. I've printed pictures off of that thing dozens of times but just noticed this time that there is a choice to make a photo collage. I decided to give it a whirl and created these neat collages from pictures I took of the kids a couple of weeks ago at Virginia Beach. Can you believe it only cost $1.69 to make each of these?! You get to pick your background color and everything. Definitely a bargain and they look great. I didn't realize you could make greeting cards on that thing too. If I hadn't have already bought Mother's Day cards I would have made them on that. They're only $1.69 too. I'll definitely be making some Christmas cards on it. That Kodak picture maker is a very cool thing. I think I'm going to be making a lot of these collages in the future.

I am pleased to report that my forest is in full bloom and the trees are no longer naked. I haven't planted any flowers yet but I should. I'd be more inclined to if I didn't stink at it so much. Gardening is just not my thing. Mike keeps saying it's because I don't try. I don't want to try, it's not my thing...lol. We do have several bushes/shrubs/hedges, whatever you call them that are in bloom. We have about 7 of these but I'd like to get more. Do any of you know what kind of bushes these are? I'd like to know what they are called so I can get some more of them. The flowers are really pretty. I hate that they're fixing to drop off. I love spring here. It's so pretty.

Ramblings of a disgruntled woman

**Warning**

If you came here in search of some sort of inspiration or thought you'd come read about my great day, you might want to consider skipping on to the next blog because I'm not in a good mood. In fact, I'm in a really bad mood. Otherwise if you don't mind my griping, pull up a chair.

First let me start off with the ridiculous price of gas. $3.49 a gallon. What is that?! And I thought I had it bad until my dad told me that he just filled up and paid $3.79 a gallon. I might feel a little different if we were rolling in $$ which we're not. I take that back. I wouldn't feel different because I'd always be thinking of what I could to with the money I'm using to fill up our cars. We live right outside of Fredericksburg. We live in the forest, close to nothing. I take that back....there's a Git N Go and a barber shop a mile down the road. For the most part I have to go on somewhat of a journey to get to anything. I've been trying to journey out only once or twice a week and do everything I need to all at once. That drives me nuts because I like going out often. I've been needing to pick up some mat board to do some finishing but it takes at least 20-25 minutes to get to Michaels or AC Moore *sigh*. Not only that but we didn't get to go see my parents this month because of the price of gas. It costs over $150 round trip. It looks like it'll be the end of May before we go. I know some people go a lot longer than that without seeing their family but I'm still adjusting. I'm used to seeing them every few days. This once a month thing hasn't been easy. Since gas is so high it looks like that might be every 2 months. They were going to come this next weekend but they can't because the gas is so much :(. I just want to thank all of those people who are the reason the gas is so high. You're the reason I won't get to see my parents very often and the reason my kids won't get to see their grandparents. I'm sure you're keeping many families apart so I hope you're happy. At least I have the deer, bats, and ducks to keep me company way out here in neverland.

Cassie had to have oral surgery today. I knew she was gonna have to have it before we moved. It wasn't anything major, her old orthodontist in TX told me she'd have to have it done. When we moved here, her new orthodontist said the same thing and gave me a letter of referral to a dental clinic. It's quite large and she wanted Cassie to go there because she said she'd do the procedure with a laser so it wouldn't be as big a deal and it would be quicker. Ok, great. I set it up for her and asked when I did if it would in fact be done with a laser. The woman on the phone said it would. Joshua needed his teeth cleaned and checked so we made their appts. for the same time and he went with Joshua. So they tell me to come in to the room so the Dr. could chat with me. She tells me about the procedure and then mentions the cutting she'll be making and told me it would be really bloody for a while because she wouldn't stitch it up. Ummmmmm....no. First I'd like to know, why wouldn't you stitch it up? Anyway, I told her the reason her ortho sent us there was so it could be done with a laser and I also told her when I made the appt. the told me it would be done with a laser. This wasn't even the Dr. we wanted to see. She told me she doesn't do the laser, the other doc does. Ok, so go get her. She's who I thought we'd be seeing anyway. She came back and told me the other doc would be doing it with a laser. Good. Meanwhile, Cassie was scared to death and couldn't keep her eyes dry. I stay in there when they start to numb here. I slip out because they told me I couldn't stay while they use the laser. I go to the waiting room and sit there feeling a wee bit useless because Mike is with Joshua and Cassie's all alone. I wait for over 30 minutes thinking they were almost done. I was really happy when I saw the woman coming to get me. I go back there thinking it's done just for them to enlighten me on the fact that they can't get their laser to work and we could reschedule. No, I don't think so. She was really stressed before we came and I certainly didn't want to do that again. So it was either reschedule or do it the other way *sigh*. I told them to go ahead so we could just be done with it. I walked out of that room and when I did I saw a really cute little dog named Bella looking up at me wagging her tail. She's a therapy dog for patients. I think I needed her more than anyone else there. Bella was the only happy part of my day today. A few minutes later they came and told me they finally got the laser to work. I headed over to where Mike and Joshua were. They were just finishing up with Joshua when Mike told me he needed to have some things done. They handed me a paper and it looks like we can have those things done for the bargain price of $1,200.00 (we don't have good dental insurance ). So our costs for today were $700.00.... then you add the $1,200.00 for Joshua....then the price of gas....yeah, I'm in a great mood. I wonder if the government realizes when they cut those rebate checks for everyone that they're probably not going to help the economy at all because we'll be sinking the $$ in to our gas tanks. If they really want to help they should do something about the price of gas.

I really hope tomorrow's a better day. Joshua's birthday is Friday and I've got some shopping to do. That is if Cassie goes to school. I certainly hope you all are having a better day than I am.

Happy Happy Birthday!

Today's Mike's 35th birthday and he's working in California. Since I can't bless him with my presence or serenade him, this is the best I can do:

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!
Happy birthday to you!

Believe me....that sounds much better here than it would have in person LOL!

At first I felt really bad because he's in California on his birthday without us but then I got to thinking...I'd love to be in California on my birthday! LOL! I know he's working but there's gotta be some time for fun in there somewhere. If it was my birthday I'd be finding that Cheesecake Factory. After I found out that he's staying in a hotel by the bridge that connects Oakland and San Francisco with a view of the city at night and the Golden Gate Bridge, I stopped feeling bad...lol.

He did pretty good for his birthday! I think his favorite present is from my parents. They paid for him to go on a whitewater rafting trip with my brother when we visit next month. I know he's pretty excited about that.

I've been pondering something.....

I've gotten a couple of emails from people who read my blog asking if I do finishing for stitching for anyone other than my LNS (local needlework shop). I've only done finishing for her and for a couple of other people who frequent her shop. I really like finishing and wouldn't mind doing a little extra for some extra $$ for those interested, HOWEVER....and this is a really big however....if you currently or ever have had Kathy do any finishing for you then I kindly ask that you don't ask me to finish anything for you. She's a stitching friend of mine and does a lot of finishing for a lot of people. She's been doing it much longer than I have, in fact she's finished several things for me. On that note, if you have any questions, feel free to email me. I'd like to keep it to ornaments, pinkeeps, and flat folds for now because they're really fun for me.

I love my hairdresser

But I don't love Blogger! I tell ya, for the past couple of months this Blogger has given me nothing but problems! Sometimes it won't let me post, if it does it likes to post the wrong date. If I want to edit something it either won't let me or deletes half of what I already posted. If it keeps up too much longer I'm switching to wordpress. Now on to my day....

I should've listened to the little voice in my head. The one that kept telling me not to take Mike to the airport this morning. The one that kept saying let him take the train. Or let him drive himself. The problem with that is, the kids LOVE the airport and I promised them we'd go back to get him. Even though now that he's gone the girl has bailed on me and will be going to a slumber party Friday night instead. It was that same voice who kept asking why we had to get him to the airport during rush hour?? Or why they had to fly out on a day, the only day that the Pope would be flying in? For the record the Pope did not fly in to Reagan. He flew in to Andrews Air Force Base. I'm using him as an excuse for our unpleasant traffic experience this morning. Could be coincidence but I think he had something to do with it. Not only were all 3 lanes on 95 at a complete stand still for a whole lotta miles, but the HOV was crawling along to. We thought we left in plenty of time but for a bit there I thought he might miss his flight. It didn't help that while stuck in the middle of said vehicles I had to tee tee so bad my bladder was on fire. You exit...you don't get back on. Not in that. We had the radio on and were listening to a traffic station where the guy and gal behind the mics monitoring traffic described the traffic situation as "fascinating". That certainly isn't the word that came to my mind LOL! It wasn't just 95 that was really backed up and crawling, it was everything. We did finally make it and then I headed booty back home. I'm thinking I should take the next 2 days off from everything so I can get psyched up to do it again...lol.

Speaking of home, can ya believe we've been here for 6 months? A friend of mine told me that when she moved it took her about 6 months to feel at home. She was right. I'm just now starting to feel like that. I'm really glad too because I had been feeling pretty crummy for a while. Don't get me wrong, I love the area. It's just that for a while I felt like I was visiting and it didn't feel like home. I'm feeling really good now though. I still miss things and people in Texas but I really do like my life here. I think my life here is much better than it was in Texas. And that brings me to this....

I LOVE my new hairdresser! Today I had my second appt. with her. I needed it too. I had my hair done in Nov. right after we moved here. That's 5 months! I needed a new "do" so bad it wasn't even funny. My hair gets all sorts of out of control when it's being neglected. It gets to a point where if I try to do something to it other than put it in a ponytail, it starts laughing at me. I only got an inch cut of the end but she had to do a lot of thinning, layering, and texturizing. When she was done there was enough hair on the floor for a whole other person & I still have a head of long hair. I think my head is 5 pounds lighter. The best part about going is she's the best hair washer ever! She even gives ya a nice scalp massage. My appt. was at 1:00 and I left right at 3:00. She takes her time and is a perfectionist. She usually books up about 3 weeks in advance so I went ahead and made my next appt. I have a bad habit of waking up and deciding that I must have my hair done that day only to find out I have to wait a couple of weeks. I had a great afternoon at the salon. She's definitely a keeper!

A few posts back, I posted the scissors and the fob that Rachel sent me for an exchange that we had in our group. My partner was Ming and she received the package I sent her so I can share a pic now. The pic with the bunny is the front and the pic with the bluebird is the back. Isn't it cute? I got the pieces from a chart called Bunnies in the Garden from With My Needle.

Since finishing that last batch of ornaments for the shop, I have managed to get quite a bit of stitching done. Mostly on smallish things. All are gifts though so I can't share pics yet. You remember that PIF challenge I started last July? I got Missy's gift stitched and sent off to her back in the summer I believe it was. I still owe 4 but am happy to say I'll put the last stitches in the 3rd one tonight and then will only have 1 more left to stitch. My plan is to mail all 3 of these at once. I just need to do the finishing on them first. I know what I want to stitch for the 4th one. At least I think I do...unless I change my mind again. I asked Celeste to order a chart for me today so as soon as it comes in I'll get busy on it. I was going to wait and mail the last 4 together but figured I'd might as well not make them wait. Plus, they're really pretty so I'm afraid if I hold on to them too long I'll never mail them :).

I saw King Neptune

Mike told me on Thursday that he has to go back to California again this next week. He was off work yesterday and the kids were out of school so we decided to go on a little road trip. Our first stop was at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. This is the first time that we've ventured out that way. All of our other road trips have either been to the North or the West. They have this thing called a Fun Card you can purchase if you're a Virginia resident. It's the same price as a one day admission and will get you in the park as many times as you want to go all spring and summer. It only took us about an hour and a half to get there. It was sunny and warm out. The one thing I didn't remember was sunscreen so my arms are pretty red today. I've been to Busch Gardens before. Not this one but the one in Tampa. This is the first time Mike and the kids have gone. We had a really great time and I can't wait till we go back. Cassie road her first roller coaster and loved it. I didn't ride it with her, Mike did. Joshua and I watched instead. It's called the Big Bad Wolf and looked like a lot of fun. Here she is sitting beside Mike. They're in the far left in the front of the car sitting in front of the guy in the red shirt. Click on the pic and you might be able to see them a little better. Since she's older than she was when we went to Disney World she's feeling a lot more adventurous now. Mike took her to do some of the other "big people" things while Joshua and I did things that were a little more appropriate for him. He loved the bumper cars and had a really good time ramming everyone else...lol. Looks to me like they all had the same idea, didn't they? One of my favorite things was getting to see the bald eagles. They're SO pretty! This is the first time I've seen them in person. They're quite a bit larger than I thought they would be.

We had a really great time, road lots of rides, saw some shows, and paid WAY too much for ice cream. I can't wait until we go back. Hopefully within the next few weeks. We left pretty early....around 5 I think it was. We would have stayed later but since Virginia Beach was only another 40 miles away, we decided that we might as well head that way. I've been dying to go to the ocean since we moved here and it seemed like a perfect time so off we went. That is until we saw a sign here and there mentioning a tunnel. Tunnels are not my friend! I despise them more than anything! I'm deathly afraid of them. I wasn't so afraid of this one until we got home and Mike showed me an aerial pic of it. Not good! I really didn't need to see that. Driving through the Chesapeake Bay does not thrill me. It wasn't much farther from there that the interstate ended and the ocean was just right on the other side of a bunch of hotels. We found a place to park and headed for the water. The kids left me like a bad habit and headed straight out into it, sneakers and all. I don't think they cared that I didn't have any extra shoes or clothes for them. I think they just might love the ocean as much as I do.

Guess who I found while everyone else was playing?! I found King Neptune! I saw him on a program on TV and was really excited to see him in person. Isn't he great? He's huge! From the road it really does look like he's coming up out of the water. What fun...now I can mark him off of my list of things to see. I've marked a lot of things off of my list in the past year.

We had the best day and I can't wait until we do it again. If we drive straight to the ocean from our house, it's 2.5 hours. I definitely don't mind that drive. There's something about that water. I can stare at it for hours and forget that anything else exists. There's also something about that water and the humidity that does really freaky things to my hair...lol.

The Recipe For Jennifer

3 parts Boldness 2 parts Naughtiness 1 part Fascination Splash of Impishness Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

What's" the Recipe for Your Personality?

Bacon and eggs, anyone?

I took Cassie out to do some shopping this weekend for some spring and summer clothes. None of the capris, scooters, and shorts fit her from last year so we gandered out for a bit to see what we could find. We still need to pick up some more things for her but we got a pretty nice start. This trip brought back 2 scooters, a pair of capris, a dress, some tops, and a really cute pair of beaded flip flops. We were strolling through super Target (LOVE Super Target!) when I strolled down a main aisle by the women's accessories. The cutest tote bag caught my eye and was screaming "buy me". I love tote bags and purses, isn't this one great?! It's so fun! 2 eggs for his eyes and a nice stripe of bacon for his mouth. Super cute bag. I couldn't pass that one up :). Joshua's birthday is May 2nd so we did a bit of birthday shopping for him too. Mike's birthday is the 16th of this month so I'll be doing some shopping for that this week. I did some more finishing for Celeste at the stitching shop. I plan to deliver her order to her tomorrow, so as soon as she gives me my check I'll head out to do Mike's b-day shopping. Here's what I finished for her this time. It's part of the Twelve Days of Christmas series from The Sweetheart Tree. I finished the first six for her, the 2nd half still need to be stitched. I love the pieces stitched but doubt I'd ever stitch them. I like designs from the Sweetheart Tree, but don't care a whole lot for all the back stitching that most of the charts call for. They're really pretty but back stitching is not my friend! LOL! I think they turned out really well. I'm glad this half is done. Off I go downtown tomorrow to deliver them.

It's been a cold, wet, dreary day here. I'm looking forward to the warmer days. We have had several but the cold seems to want to keep coming back. It has to be going some time soon. The grass is green again, the daffodils are in bloom, and I see lots of leaves on the trees. I'm really happy about that, my forest has been looking rather naked for months. I like the warmer nights. We like going out on the deck and watching the bats fly by.

Last Tuesday I was out and about early so decided to stop off at the video store to rent some movies. Alvin and the Chipmunks was released on DVD that day and the kids really wanted to see it. I knew if I waited until the weekend to rent it, they'd be all gone. While I was there I also picked up Enchanted. I'd been wanting to see it for a while. Really great movies! Amy Adams did a fantastic job in that movies. I really liked it and am sure we'll be buying that one. As I was browsing around at all the new releases, I stumbled upon a section where there were several people snapping up the new Johnny Depp movie. You know, Sweeney Todd. I didn't know one thing about that movies except there were a ton of people there to rent it and it had Johnny Depp in it. There were only a couple left so I figured it must be good and I got it. Big mistake! For me anyways! That was one disturbing flick! I don't recommend this movie if disgusting things turn your stomach into something horrid. Or if watching bad things before bed will keep you tossing and turning all night (like me!). But, who knew? It's Johnny Depp! I've definitely learned a lesson here. You better believe from now on I'll be sure to read the backs of the movie cases before I rent them. I didn't notice the very small subtitle until I put the DVD back in the case to take it back. All I saw on the cover was Sweeney Todd. Somehow I missed : The Demon barber of Fleet Street. At first I thought it was a musical of sorts with all the singing and what not. I've seen more throat slashings than I'd care too and it'll probably be a cold day in hell before I eat any kind of pot pie again....Uggghhhh. If you watch this movie, don't say I didn't warn you. What a bad bad movie choice I made. I'm ashamed at myself for even picking it up...lol.