Drawing a Blank… February 17, 2012

I’ve been drawing a bloggy blank for weeks now….Give me a topic to ramble about I’ll yammer on for hours, but give me a blank piece of paper and say write and I’ve got nothing…In fact I usually just end up with a sheet full of doodles. I don’t know how you guys do it, come up with new, amusing, entertaining posts almost daily.

My brain is full of random thoughts flowing though my head at a million miles an hour. Random ramblings, rants, lists, religious thoughts, thoughts about loved ones, pointless thoughts, deep thoughts, thoughts about what I need to do, celebrity gossip, flashbacks, thoughts about TV shows and movies, my two cents on all the news happenings, song lyrics….The wheels are always turning…Then there’s my day, it’s always filled with humorous & or jaw dropping kiddo shenanagins. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t get covered in mud, syrup, soap, toothpaste, or someone doesn’t UFC their brother, beat up a wall, trash the house, roll in fingerpaints, color themselves with Sharpies and nail polish, fingerpaint in butter…something….but none of it seems blog worthy…

So when I sit down, I’ll babble out a few lines of jibberish, sometimes a few paragraphs, then I draw a blank….if I even get that far. Half the time I stare at a blank screen just wondering ‘what to blog about’….and Why do I it? Drive myself crazy over drawing a blogging blank….because I really do enjoy blogiging…I enjoy sharing my ramblings……I just ………..hmm….drawing another bloggy blank……{See what I mean}………Peace out……………I’ll be back, don’t worry, next time with a complete thought I promise 😉 ………

But until then I’m always full of Easy inexpensive meals in Money Saving Meals, and I promise I’m trying to stay caught up on all the great Link-Ups , be sure to check them out, I’ve found some great new blogs to blogstalk follow, you will too, I’m sure 🙂

The Booger Man – A Thursday Throwback December 8, 2011

Thursday Throwbacks

It’s Thursday!! You know what that means. One day until Friday!! You’re saying Thank you Captain Obvious right now aren’t you! No, really, it means it’s time to throwback and pull out some good memories to make us all smile!!

Today’s Throwback….

The Booger Man…Yes he was real!! And no it’s not the boogie man…who’d be scared of a dancing man (boogie – dancing – get it lol) Anyways, as a kid he was the Booger Man, he was scary as hell! He lived in between mine and my neighbor’s house…or at least he hid out behind the AC unit after the sun went down. As we’d go from each other’s houses in the evening we’d bolt as fast as we could for that 15 feet until we got to where the porch light lite up the grass…funny how as kids you can be scared of something you’ve never seen, and don’t even know if it’s real…In my defense, not only was I little, and my mom told me he’d get me, but I never thought the Booger Man was specific type of creepy being (you know like a sasquatch or whatever), just a bad scary guy…maybe from 4 streets back [I’m still convinced that only weirdo’s lived on that street…and if you grew up in my old neighborhood you know what street I’m talking about lol].

Point of the story…no point really…just remembering the old neighborhood, old friends, growing up, meeting my hubby to be (He moved in 4 houses down and years later), the Booger Man, having a blessed childhood, and lots of good memories.

So…What’s Your Thursday Throwback??

My childhood house

–This picture was STOLEN WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM ITS OWNER!!!, sorry Dad…I guess it’s Karma for all those pics you stole borrowed from Germany when I was a kid 😉

Here’s where I’m Stealing Pictures From 🙂

The ABC’s of ME December 6, 2011

I ran across this at great list at Chosen Chaos and thought I’d join in….I have filled this out on FaceBook before as a note, but this is an updated version of my ABC’s of Me

A – Age – 27

B – Bed Size – Hmmm…..I think it’s a queen? But truthfully by midnight many nights my bed has been taken over by children and dogs and I’ve migrated to the couch

C – Chore that you hate – Can I say all of them? No…Laundry then. I hate laundry….with 5 people I can never keep up!

D – Dogs – Rocco (a lab/chow mix) and Magnus (a pit mix)

E – Essential start to your day – Caffeine…and lots of it….just hook the IV up and I’ll be good to go

F – Favorite color – Blue

G – Gold or Silver – I don’t discriminate…..the more sparkle the better

H – Height – 5’1

I – Instruments you play – I’m musically challenged

J – Job Title – Hmmm…..SAHM / HBIC / Co-CEO Co-CFO / Chauffeur / Short Order Cook / Laundry Expert / Minor Injury Fixer / & the list goes on…you know all the typical SAHM duties 😉

K – Kids – 7 year old twins and a 6 year old, all boys…and yes the dogs are boys too…I’m pretty outnumbered

L – Live – Wouldn’t you like to know {j/k}….I’m in the US

M – Mother’s name – Mom

N – Nicknames – none since I was in school

O – Overnight hospital stays – 3 – When I was 11 I was in the hospital for a week after a back surgery, then for my twins birth and for their little brothers’

P – Pet Peeve’s – I did a blog post on this one 5 Pet Peeves…go check it out, I’ll be here when you get back ;P

Q – Quote from a movie – “Don’t take life to seriously, you’ll never get out alive” – Van Wilder

R – Right or left handed – Right, my left hand is practically useless

S – Siblings – Nope, an only child

T – Time you wake up – Too early! Usually 5:45

U – Underwear – Not even going there….

V – Vegetable you hate – carrots

W – What make you run late – My scatterbrainedness, playing on my phone, 3 kids, 2 dogs, locking myself in (yes in), misplaced keys, should I go on?

X – X-Rays you’ve had – too many to count

Y – Yummy food that you make – Sticky buns

Z – Zoo Animals – I don’t like zoo’s …between the fact that we’re caging animals for our amusement to the funktastic smell, it’s just not my kind of place..but if we can throw in Sea World animals to the mix I’m in, and my favorite would be the dolphins

So there you have it, The ABC’s of Me…..What are your ABC’s? Let’s link them up 🙂

For you list lovers out there check out these other posts:
Sayings, Quotes, and Good Advice
Sanity Savers
ABC’s of Life

The ABC’s of Life November 10, 2011

My list of important things to remember in life….ABC style

A – Always dream

B – Be Kind

C – Cupcakes are just muffins in disguise and therefore perfectly acceptable for breakfast *Undercover Muffins*

D – ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ – To quote Journey

E – Enjoy every moment

F – Find happiness

G – Give back

H – Handle your shit business

I – It’s going to be okay…whatever it is, it will be okay

J – Jingle Bells..& all other Christmas decorations should be taken down no later than New Year’s Day

K – Know your limits

L – Love Life, Live Life, Love, Love, Love

M – Monkey’s fling poo….don’t get a monkey

N – Never say never

O – Open your mind

P – People don’t change, and it’s not our job to change them

Q – Quiet children are usually up to no good

R – Remember the past, but don’t live in it

S – Stay positive

T – Think before you speak or post, tweet, text, whatever It may be

U – Use your common sense

V – Vegetables are actually kind of yummy….especially when cooked in bacon grease

W – ‘Without the bitters, the sweet wouldn’t be so sweet’ – I can’t say I know who said this originally

X – Xeroxing your butt on the office copy machine is never a good idea

Y – You’ll never know if you don’t try

Z – Zippers can be dangerous….Remember There’s Something About Mary “Frank & Beans, Frank & Beans”)

Good Stuff *Also borrowed from an app

I Love This! Found it on an iPhone app

A Drive November 8, 2011

I get bored easily….and don’t tell me ‘Smart people don’t get bored’, or ‘Go dust something’ –The answers I got as a child for whining about boredom…I just like to go. I have Go-Ittus….I hate being cooped up in the house. I can find more (mostly pointless) errands to run and things to do, but on the weekends I want to do fun stuff with the family. This Saturday was no different. Kiddo baseball has ended for the season and now our Saturdays are free…and of course I whining I’m bored…So I had a bright idea (For some reason most of my bright ideas turn out being as bright as Lucy’s great ideas on I Love Lucy), the boys and I should go on a drive!

I put hoodies on everyone, we load into the car, and we’re off. First we drive through the old part of downtown. The twins are loving

Munchies for the Road

being out of the house and watching all the wild birds that have come to spend their winter here. We make a loop around the city, then stop at McD’s for munchies for the road. If you remember Part 1 of Dorothy’s Tragic Tale (https://livinlife123.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/dorothy-the-fish-part-1-the-bad-day-the-bribe/), you know that by now Ry’s screaming and grumpy because he thinks we are about to head home. I park, pass out snacks, remind everyone we are just going to drive, and we’re off for round 2.

Where to go??? Another genius idea….I’ll take the boys to this spot I used to love as a teenager. I’d go there all the time, with friends, alone, to think, to chill, to just hang out and watch life go by….but do I remember how to get there? I haven’t driven there in years….I could have GPS’d it but where’d the fun in that be? We drove out over the lake, Ry now screaming because we didn’t stop at the water, the other two boys are enjoying the view….We drive, 1 turn after another, I found it! No wrong turns, 1st try.

We're on our way...Crossing the Lake

The gates weren't there before

10 years can do a lot….there are gates up, no trespassing signs, no parking signs, it’s just not the same….but if you look beyond that you can still see why this spot was awesome. While you can’t go down to the bottom anymore, when stopped (I was NOTparking!!) at the top of the hill you can still see the whole city. It’s still beautiful. Just to sit and know that down below the world is going on with their busy lives…everything from weekend errands, family fun, people working, crimes being committed, lives beginning and ending…and I’m sitting there watching it all happen.

Still Beautiful...You just have to look beyond the crap 😉

By now it’s getting late. We turn the car around, drive back down the twisty turny roads, cross over the lake (now Ry’s screaming ‘I want Water’), and make our way back to the casa. I’ve now learned that only 2 of my children are like their mother when it comes to being able to enjoy a drive…1 cutie seems to thinks drives are stupid and you should only get in the car if you have a specific destination….

Enjoying the View....But we are NOT PARKED!! Just Driving By 🙂

Final Thoughts – While time changes everything, if you take a moment and look beyond all the bs (or barricades and no parking signs) the beauty is still there…and no matter how crappy ones day is, no matter how you feel, the day is still going on with or without you, so make the best of it!!

**Dookie is fertilizer..so take all the shit the day throws at you and plant something beautiful.

Driving Home...Excuse My Dirty Windshield lol

What Our Kids May Never Know….

I can’t imagine growing up the way kids today do. Technology has changed so much, and continues to change just as quickly. It amazes me the things computers / tablets / cell phones can do. Then there are the changes in trends in fashion, television, and music. The things we (as a society) see as acceptable, what’s considered safe, it’s all changed. Every move kids today make, the mistakes, all so easily shared with the world. It’s such a different world than the one I grew up in….that being said, I’m sure kids today can’t imagine some of the stuff we grew up with.

:::::Things Kids Today May Never Know:::::

• Cassette tapes
• Mix tapes made from songs on the radio
• 8 tracks & Record Players
• Laser Disk Players & VHS
• Life without a computer
• Floppy Disks
• Life without the Internet (And I don’t just mean the pre Facebook days of the Internet, I mean having no Internet in the house at all)
• Dial up Internet (Okay, some of you may still have this one)
• Actually having to go to a library to do research
• The bag cell phone (Or for that matter, any cell phone that only made calls)
• The days before Call Waiting and Caller I.D.
• Pagers
• Pay Phones…and Pay Phones only costing a quarter
• Cameras with film
• The significance of sayings like ‘You’re killing me Smalls’ and ‘McFly McFly anybody in there?’
• Passing notes in class (Maybe they still do this one, but I imagine it’s all done by text these days)
• Playing outside unsupervised until the street lights came on
• Rabbit Ears (In our first apartment our rabbit ears were covered with aluminum foil so we could get really good reception lol)
• Saturday Morning Cartoons on Regular TV
• TV Guide (When it was mailed out weekly and not a channel on cable)
• MTV playing music
• TGIF on ABC on Friday Nights (As a kid I loved Friday Night TV)
• That every time I say ‘Whoa’ I’m channeling my inner Joey from Blossom
• Speaking of Joey’s, they’ll never know about ‘How You Doin’ either
• How much video game graphics have improved since the days of the Atari and the NES
• The awful (but at the time awesomely amazing) special effects of 1980’s movies
• That Dwayne Johnson was The Rock, Mark Wahlberg used to be Marky Mark, and Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton would never be known if not for their sex tapes
• The WWE was known as WWF until the World Wildlife Foundation got mad and made them change their name
• The only reality show on TV was The Real World
• Napster and Free Music Downloading
• Gas costing under $1.oo / gallon
• How to write in cursive (unless we teach them, but the schools don’t anymore)
• French Fries in their kids meals (Don’t worry, I don’t deprive my children from that daily vegetable serving of fried potatoey goodness, we just don’t buy kids meals…which by the way are always OVERPRICED)
• Candy Cigarettes (I can still find them occasionally, but for the most part I think they are kind of frowned upon) As a kid we’d sit and ‘puff’ them so the powdered sugar coating would look like smoke

I have to say, while kids today may not be able to relate to some of my childhood memories, they definitely aren’t missing out. I watch my sons at 6 and 7 on their iPods and iPads, they have the world at their fingertips …It’s pretty awesome (As long as we teach them responsible Internet etiquette). When it comes to things like not being able to play outside unsupervised, maybe that’s not such a bad thing…We as parents just have to see it not as ‘my kids can’t play outside because it’s not safe’, but as ‘we get to play outside as family’. My list could go on and on…the differences in then and now, the good and the bad in both…but I think I’ve wasted taken up enough of your time. So what’s on your list of Things Kids Today May Never Know?

Living and Learning…A few random thoughts August 17, 2011

Things I’m Learning…

A few things I’ve picked up over the years, and a few stolen quotes that say it all… (all jumbled into one random list…sorry for the scatterbrainedness in this post…my mind is all over the place today lol)

• We are entitled to free speech only when that speech doesn’t offend anyone else, the same goes for having one’s own opinion
• If you wouldn’t say or do it in front of your spouse, don’t do it
• If I pass on my beliefs to my children, beliefs that I get from the Bible, I am wrong in society’s eyes
• Van Wilder was right, ‘Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere
  
• While agreeing to disagree is one of the best ideas out there, adults have just as hard of time with this concept as little kids do
• Adults are just children who know more ways to call you a cootie filled butt head
• ‘How are you?’ is a greeting not a question…no one really cares [I’m talking to you grocery store check out clerk!!]
• NOTHING good comes from quiet kids!
• Celebrate the small victories!!!!
• Never pray for anything for yourself…pray for guidance and give thanks for all you have instead. Prayer feels so much better when not begging God for things!
• It’s okay to be done with someone…no hard feelings or mean words/thoughts necessary, just done…we are adults…life’s too short to spend it surrounded by people who erk you
• For some reason people think they are entitled to anything they want, from respect to a hand out….I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…If you didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it, and you certainly aren’t entitled to it
• ‘Love the life you live, and live the life you love’ – okay I stole this one…not sure where it came from but it’s a good thought!
• ‘A man’s gotta know his limitations’ Clint Eastwood – this works with anything in one’s life
• Bob Dylan really is right ‘All I can be is ME, whoever that is!’
• And lastly, to quote myself, {don’t laugh} ‘No matter how much crap the day throws at you, it will keep going, so I will keep going, knee deep in dookie and kicking ass the whole way’ – Basically, no matter how you feel the day keeps going, might as well attempt to make the best of it 😉