How I met my LOVE

I will try to make this short.

Josh and I both attended the same church for a long time. He was 2 years older so I wasn't really in youth group with him, since he rarely came and left before I started coming.
He knew who I was though.

Anyway, he began to come back to church with his friend Chris, who was my friend Shae's cousin/friend.

On my 18th birthday on March 4, 1999, me and Shae were meeting Angela at the mall to pick her up after she got off work. We were headed to dinner to celebrate my big 18.

Well Chris knew Shae was going to the mall, so he came too, and brought Josh along.
When we got to the parking lot they (Josh) were driving a Jeep Wrangler with a snow plow on the front...I though that was hilarious and ridiculous...I still laugh at that...but he worked for a company that plowed driveways in the winter and Jeeps can get into driveways easier so it isn't as stupid as I thought!
Somehow they invited themselves to dinner with us.
I immediatley thought Josh was a cutie (kinda long hair, jeans white shirt and black leather jacket).

I felt like an idiot when I kept having to complain that there was bacon in my food. I was not eating meat at the time (I still don't eat beef, but I do eat pork now).
So I left thinking he thought I was an idiot or something, but it didn't matter because he was cute, but he drove a Jeep with a snow plow=)

We ended up hanging out with Chris and Josh a few more times in the next couple weeks.
I started to have feeling for Josh.

I had Chris's cell phone number which was really Josh's and I didn't know that.
So one day I called and Josh asked why I never talked to him, since this was really his phone.
"UHHH...not sure hot guy because I really like you and not Chris", is what I was thinking.

So I called and talked to Josh a few times.
One day I went over to where they were living and hung out with Chris for the day, and then later Josh came home and Chris was going to go to a club...but I had promised Angela I would wait until she was 18 and we would go to our first club together.
So I ended up hanging out with Josh.

That night we talked and I asked if he would take me to my Prom.
And he sappily replied "Only if yo will go out with me?"
I said YES and we kissed and he replied "That was one hell of a first kiss" AWE!

That was the end of March (24th to be exact), and were joined at the hip ever since.
I then got pregnant at the end of October, Merci was born the following July and we got married in November 2000.

And we have been married for 7 years=)

I know he was the man I was supposed to marry, I love him more every day.
As Josh would say...
"We just fit"

And since I recently posted pics of our wedding I will leave you with
this picture of us while we were dating



and at my graduation!


(I am so thankful to have those memories with him)

Struck Gold

I have this bag I keep in my back laundry room, and when I come across clothing and other odds and end I don't want anymore I add them to that bag. Well I have been meaning to empty that bag and take the stuff to Goodwill for a LONG time.

Well, today, out of nowhere I decided to go through the stuff and put into smaller bags and put them in my trunk. Guess I am just sick of seeing th huge bag sit there.

Awhile back my mother gave me a big bag of stuff and I threw most of it in the Goodwill bag. (Who needs more junk) Today when I was going through the bag I found an old toy of my brothers....a TalkBoy. Do you remember those? From Home Alone 2? I left it out of the donation bags and thought I would look it up on EBay to see if it was selling.

They are...in the last few days there has been 4-5 sell b/w $60 and $115. I am excited to go buy some old school tapes and see if it works!

I love E BAY (sometimes...I actually just broke even on these toys I listed, and I should have made a good money on them...RRRR).

I will be sure to let you know what happens.
You can always check my auctions (the link is on my sidebar also) to see the auction

UPDATE*** The auction is up, it isn't selling for as much this week as last week***

Wordless Wednesday

From our weekend away.
We were at Old Man's Cave.
Josh's hair is fuzzy in the front, because this was after his massage, and his head was down.
His hair looks funny=)
Still a cute picture!

Things are going good here!

Some positive things from our house:

1.) My washer is finally fixed, after a wrong part and piles of laundry, I finally fixed it.
Yep, that said I, as in me, Donna. I picked up the right part, plugged it in screwed it is, and TADA, it is working, a load is in right now!

2.) My Christmas shopping is almost complete (and wrapped) I only have a few more things to get, and I have an excuse...we haven't picked names for one house yet and I am waiting for suggestions from Josh's Aunt.
I also want to grab a few more little things for my hubby, but really if I don't it is no big deal.
I won't tell you how much we have spend on him in the past week
(XBox 360, 4 games, 1 extra controller...well I guess that was for me, it is Pink after all)
**But he does make all the money and did just finish the biggest job of his career, so he definitely deserves it**

3.) I finished a math assignment and a quiz today, since Ethan actually went to nap on time without fight, and slept 2 hours!!!!
Only 3 more assignments and 1 more test and Algebra is officially OVER!!!!!!!

NOW off to figure out what to make for dinner and then off to help decorate our church,
Our pastor is getting married next weekend ( he lost his wife to a car accident 5 years ago).

FINALLY Flaunt it Friday

Yep, that is right, I am finally getting to the Flaunt it Friday task.

It stinks that those photos are from the stone age and I have to go through the trouble of scanning them to post them, what a pain.

And because I had so many wonderful friends and so many good times it would take a year to scan them all in, so forget about it.

My husband and I disagreed on the Hot vs. What the Heck pics, so I will post a few of my favs and you tell me!

So here the are:

Hot Hot Hot!


and

What the heck was I thinking:



So, I am the tomboy right up front sporting the Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket.
I thought if I was a tomboy the guys would like me. Silly me!



Her I am 17 an posing for a picture like this, come on!

This is where the disagreement comes in, my hubby thinks this dress looks horribble on me, I was only16, it was my first dance and I think I pulled it off. I think I look cute.



So it this a HOT HOT HOT picture or a What the Heck was I thinking.
I can take it=)

Sunday

Took Merci bowling today...should have gotten bumpers, for her and us! LOL.

Almost

Almost didn't post today...but I remembered!

Hope you had a good Saturday!

Another Friday

It was Friday, but seemed like a Saturday. Had no schoolwork to do, so I cleaned and then I got to shop without kids and then we went to a family thing at BW 3. Now I am off to bed...I mean to get a nice back massage from hubby. Night Night!

Great Day

We had a great Thanksgiving.
It is nice that the kids are a bit older and it isn't that hard to lug them to 2 different houses.
We got to eat 2 great meals and have fun hanging out with our families.

We didn't get home until 10:30 PM and the kids were really behaving, we did have melt downs when we got home, but that is to be expected.

I hope you all had a wonderful day also=)

And just in case you missed it here is the Thanksgiving picture of my kiddos.

Inevitable

It is inevitable that at one point in time you WILL have to get your car fixed. Car parts wear out and need to be replaced, just like everything else we use on a daily basis.

Why not take your car to AAMCO?
They have some great deals going on for maintenance on your car.

I am so grateful that my husband can fix most things on our cars. it is so nice to not have to pay the inflated prices to get things done on our vehicles. There are times though that is is just worth paying to have regular maintenance done. With owning a business and keeping up a house my hubby has very limited time, so we usually pay someone to do maintenance.

Since I am a coupon freak, you better bet I will find ways to save money on whatever work we do have done on either of our vehicles.

Doesn't a $29.95 Transmission Fluid change sound good? or how about $20 off any bill over $100, or what if your check engine light is on...they will check it for FREE!!

Check the site out and get your coupons now and why not check out
this great promotion they have going on.

But hopefully you won't have to spend much on your car until the holiday season is over.

Gobble, Gobble!

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

_________________________________________________________

Yesterday we went on a little photo shoot around our neighborhood. The kids weren't very cooperative, but I actually did get a few really good ones.
I have been meaning to do this for awhile now, but it gets dark so early and the weather is quite cold, so coordinating good times have been hard.
Merci was off school and the weather was nice, more sun would have been nice but, Oh well.

I was a lucky blogger chosen to review a wonderful fun software, called Frame my Photos.
It comes with hundreds and hundreds of photo frames that you can plug your pictures into.
They have ANY holiday you can think of and more.
You just pick your frame, plug your picture in and there you have it.
You can make a number of custom photo gifts and order right online. How easy is that?

I know this isn't as fancy as digi scrap booking, but if you don't have time for that this is the next best thing!

I created the above card in like 5 minutes, and it even flipped my picture for me, I originally took the picture with Ethan on the Left, but when I plugged it into the card he was kinda cut off. This way it looks so much better...with one click of a button!

I am excited to create my Christmas cards with this software.
I can save my finished product to a jump drive and get it printed right at the store and don;t have to wait for processing. (I always wait to the last minute, so this will be so great!)

Thanks Frame my Photos for giving me this opportunity!
I love your product and look forward to many more hours of creating fun things!

FUN WITH COOKIES

Spiderman Cookies for Ethan

This is what they were supposed to look like...Josh and I both tried...no artists in this house!

We all made these for a Thanksgiving treat=)

Gobble Gobble=)

Life Insurance

Life insurance is something I have a hard time with. Insurance in general is something I have a hard time with, but I won't go there. If your spouse was to die, would you really want the money from the policy. Yeah it would help you pay your bills and for the funeral, but wouldn't you feel just horrible using money from your spouse dying? I would, I would just cry when I was spending it knowing that my hubby was gone. I don;t know maybe I would feel differently if I was in that situation, but I pray that I will never be in it. So if you feel like you need something to fall back on you should probably get a few
term life insurance quotes.

He likes reading it

For some reason my husband loves to put the
closed captioning option on when we watch movies.
He likes to make sure he doesn't miss anything, I guess.
I used to find it really annoying because I would sit there and read along with all of the words, but I guess I have gotten used to it.
We just always turn it on, and it doesn't bother me anymore.

Who likes headaches?

I don't think anyone like having a headache, but many of us suffer from them.
It seems like migraine headaches are more and more common as time goes on.
I used to get headaches often, but I haven't got them very much in the past few years, until recently. Except I think I know what they are from lately, caffeine. I recently started drinking coffee and realized I have been drinking a lot more pop than usual, so I am being careful of what I drink.
There is a new treatment for headaches, Botox for migraines. I would like to read a bit more about it and do a little research to see what the effectiveness is.

Decisions, decisions

When re decorating any room in your house
light fixtures are a major decision.
You have to fond one that matches your decorating theme and then you have to find one in your budget. Light is necessary in every room, so you have to be careful and choose a light fixture that will do the job it is supposed to do.
Our dining room has awful lighting, and we are especially noticing this now that winter is here and it is dark for more hours of the day. I had to move a lamp into the dining room so I could work on my laptop in there. It just doesn't fit in that room, but that is the only option we have right now.

A close look

My grandma has one of those old
makeup mirrors that sits on the counter. When I say make-up mirror I mean one of those mirrors that has one side magnifying and one side that is a regular mirror. She loves it and uses it a lot, but it is kinds falling apart. I think I may look into getting her a nice one for Christmas. You can gt pretty ones that you can leave out on the counter in your bathroom, or they have hand held ones. I just gotta figure out which one she will like better.

What kind do you have?

If you have a Dell computer, I am sure sometime in the future you may need to upgrade your computer. Some people go out and but a new computer every few years, but it is really easy to upgrade parts to make your computer work faster and more efficient. Like Dell Memory, you just add some more memory to your computer,a nd there you have a quicker working computer. Sounds easy huh? It is!

Wordless Wednesday

I haven't killed them yet=)
These geraniums are so beautiful despite the cold weather. Everything else in our yard is drab as they await Winter, but these guys aren't giving up.
They make me smile every time I pull in my driveway.
I know...wordless Wednesday...but I just had to explain.

Icky Pain

I come from a family of so called hypochondriacs. But really we aren't, there IS something new wrong with us every day, and we have the smallest bladders in the world.

My father has played mens softball since I can remember. We would go with him and just hang out at the parks or play in the baseball dirt, which my mother hated. Granted my dad isn't that old, only 44, he has had to already give up his love of playing ball.



My dad is on the Right...sadly this is the only picture I could find of him.

He has a torn rotator cuff which he was advised to fix long ago, but who has time to take 6-8 weeks off of work? My father also has bad knees, bad cartilage, stiff joints the whole shebang. I am almost positive he has had surgery on his knees, or some kind of treatment, because I know there was a time he was wearing a big brace on it.
If you are ever at their house you will most likely hear my dad moaning in pain when he tries to get up from the couch. He isn't housebound because of this or anything but, I know how it feels to be in pain most of the time.

My mom just rolls her eyes when he complains about this pain or that, but ya know what I BELIEVE HIM, because I have it too! I am 26 and have had painful knee problems for 10 years or more. I also randomly have joint pains throughout my body. I guess I have inherited the hypochondriac trait, as my mother calls it.

I think my dad would greatly benefit from using Freeze it
and then my mom could hand it to him every time he whines and tell him to Freeze it!! HAHA=)

Awhile back I got to sample a wonderful product Freeze It Gel. It was so soothing and really helped ease the pain in my knees. I loved it, it lasted a good while and didn't have an overpowering odor as many of the like products do. You won't be disappointed.

Freeze it promises to relieve the pain of Sore muscles, Arthritis and any ankle, knee, hip, elbow joint pains.



Check it out for yourself:

Mashed potatoes

Anyone have a really YUMMY recipe?

I am never impressed with the ones I make.

I have been chosen to make them for Thanksgiving.

Help!

In my family the mashed potatoes are a MUST and if they aren't good I will hear about it.

Friday

Friday we had to leave our house by 2, because we had to check into the cabin right at 5 (weird but...those are the rules at that particular place). We were making god time and would have been there in 2.5 hours instead if 3 but then we hit some traffic, nonetheless we made it right at 5 only to find a note telling us she would be right back...25 minutes later. We were a little annoyed and starving, but we dealt with it.

The picture from a post I posted last week was the back of the cabin, this is the front.

We were impressed, the cabin was very clean and mostly nicer than our home. After we unloaded the car we headed out to find the grocery store, we brought food, but I never made it to the grocery store to get a few ingredients that I needed. When we were there we decided to just buy frozen pizza's and junk food=) and a little bit of wine.

We went back to the cabin to eat and then went to try out the hot tub. I was really scared I would be freezing...but boy did it feel good to be in the middle of the woods, looking up at the stars from the hot tub. Romantic!

Obviously this is the view during the day=)

We then headed to bed early, we were both pretty exhausted and Josh had hurt his back that morning at work=(

Exciting package

When I arrived home Sunday form our weekend getaway I found a package in my mailbox. I know we all like to get packages, but this one was so FUN! I new I would be getting a product to write about I just had no idea what it was. Well, I got 3 things. I got a package of candles that have colored flames, I got a big scented pencil, and I got a little package of "Insta-snow".

VAT 19 has some pretty neat holiday gift ideas like the above mentioned ones aw well as this fun item:USB Powered Desk Lamp.

I don't know about you but I like getting fun, interesting gifts for the people on my list. Between my sibling and my husbands sibling we have 9 to buy for and only 1 is a girl (they are the easy ones!) I know I will be checking out this site for some fun ideas!

The candles were really fun, I had to try them out. The picture didn't turn out well, but you can see that each of the candles has a color to the flame, they are much better in person!

I am really excited to make the "insta snow", I am sure the kids will make a mess of it, but I want to use it in the picture I plan of taking of the kids for our holiday photo cards!

I have heard their ambient dvds are really great also, I wouldn't mind trying out the fireplace one!

So I hope you enjoy VAT 19 and their very great prices for your holiday shopping!

We are HOME

We are back home.
Sad, but life must go on!
Excited to see the kids, not excited to finish my algebra, but that is what I must do...more detail and pictures to come!

THANKS WENDY for being my guest blogger! You are a gem=)

Had to skip it

I was very excited to go horseback riding this weekend, but Josh hurt his back pretty bad at work on Friday morning before we left so we weren't able to keep our reservations.
Saturday when we woke up he could barely stand straight up. I kept laughing and calling him an old man..LOL. Since we were far away from our chiropractor we ended up at a massage therapist. He was able to loosen up Josh's back but it is still not right.

We were both kinda bummed about it but it was OK, we had a wonderful day anyway.

If you know someone who loves to ride horses and needs some horse riding apparel, check out this link!

Happy 7th Anniversary Donna and Josh!!

Hello all!! Wendy here!! Donna is off on a weekend excursion to celebrate 7 wonderful years with her hubby. They are staying in a beautiful cabin without the kiddos...only each other. I am sure they are having a WONDERFUL time! Be sure to leave Donna and Josh some anniversary LOVE while you are here.

Flaunt it Friday

This week we are to reveal our working space.

I have 2 places I work.

My dining room table, where I am mostly so I can keep an eye on the kids, while I do my Algebra and get sidetrack by all of your blogs!



And my basement where I do all of our business stuff, bills, etc. The not fun stuff.
It gets really cold in the winter and I have to wear gloves or keep a space heater right next to me, so I am not down there much.




Both are a mess right now, because I am just a busy woman. School is really keeping me occupied to say the least.

For more Flaunt it Fridays, and to take part, please visit Flaunt it Friday

HINT for the Giveaway:



I am leaving in a few hours for a wonderful weekend with my hubby, so I will have guest blogger (woohoo, my first one!)
You already love her, so check back here tomorrow and make her feel even more special!

I will talk to you all on Sunday night, or Monday.
Don't miss me too much!

Credit Card Debt?

Hopefully you don't suffer from credit card debt, but lets face it, many of us do.
And Tis the season for racking up credit card debt.
We don't use credit cards. When we first got married we had a lot of bad a
Credit
so we weren't able to get approved fro any credit card, which ended up being a good thing, now we aren't dependent on them.

If you do have bad credit you should really look into some kind of credit repair
because you really don't want to live with such a burden over your shoulders, it causes way too much stress. Debt consolidation is a popular option.

Be careful this holiday season and do some research on your credit and how to protect it!

ConsumerCreditDebt.org is dedicated to helping consumers improve their credit rating and get out of debt. They are committed to assisting consumers and their families in finding customized solutions for debt elimination.

It is coming

I just got word that my giveaway shipment is on it's way!!

I got the stuff I ordered today, I will take pics and post when I get back from getting Merci from school.

Bye!

***Update***I lied, I never got a chance.
I had some shopping...actually returning to do, and a Pampered Chef party to go to.

So you will have to wait till tommorow.
I will give you a hint...Drea did a review on them at DE reviews in the last month or so.
They aren't for babies.

Anyone want to guess??

Soft and cozy

We have friends who spent the dough on a memory foam mattress, but they assure me it was well worth it. Mike has a bad back, he played football in high school and really messed it up, so they saw it as an investment in the health of his body.

Memory foam and Tempurpedic offer some of the best mattresses you can find.

Angelbeds offers these therapeutic mattresses, the best on the market, at a DEEP discount, and when I say deep I mean at a discount up to $3300. Now, that is a savings!

The foam used in these mattresses re NASA developed to bring you comfortable, contouring support for the health of your body. This revolutionary material relieves pressure and stress to your body that other mattresses cannot. To prove their top of the line quality, the offer a 90 day sleep trial and 20 year warranty. Shipping is free and there is no sales tax, unless you live in Texas. Check out their site to get all the detail and hear some customer satisfaction stories.

The website offers free chat so you can get your answers you want immediately. I don't think you will be disappointed, check it out for yourself!

If you have problems with your back, neck or other bones in your body, you may want to look into these great mattresses.

Giveaways are fun!

Andrea is having another great giveaway...a fun book! Check it out and sign up for a chance to win, in time for the holidays!

AND

I am excited to say I will most likely be having a giveaway, in the next few weeks. No promises, but I contacted a company I recently ordered from and asked if they wanted to do a giveaway and they asked for my address and said they would see what they could do!
Maybe they wanted me to leave them alone or something, but I hope they want to get there name and product out there more.

I know a few of you will be really interested, so make sure you keep a look out!

AND



why not join this??
Sounds so much fun!


And I am sad to say that since I will be gone this weekend I will have to be a bad NOBLOPOMO participant and skip Saturday, the laptop is staying HOME.
I am so sad=(

Wordless Wednesday

Pimp my Ride

I have heard the new Dodge Charger is a pretty nice car! I also heard the Hemi is pretty fun to play with. Beware of those cops though.
If you have a Dodge Charger you will probably be in the market at some point for some kind of Dodge Charger accessory to enhance your new ride.
I still think about getting accessories to pimp out my Jeep, even though it is pretty old. I kinda want some of those smiley face lights for the top..HaHa.
We get a Jeep catalog every couple of months and Josh and I are always like, "I want that, I want that", but in reality we wouldn't spend any more money on the Jeep.
We will wait until we get a new car...like that Mini Cooper I want!

Getting excited!

CABIN Description:



This Cabin is complete, with 2 living rooms, fully equipped kitchen, CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR

The Cabin offers all of the comforts of home and is decorated with your comfort in mind. Including a wood burning stove for those cold nights


Fully equipped modern kitchen
2 BEDROOMS (1 PRIVATE,1 LOFT) 2 LIVING AREAS,2 TV'S WITH DIRECT TV, DVD/VCR. 4 person max.

Enjoy the privacy on the 5 heavily wooded acres in the beautiful Hocking Hills as you listen to nature from the screened porch or sitting by the fire ring, there is also a gas grill, picnic table and hammock for your enjoyment and a Hot tub for after those long hikes

REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!
The Soothing and Relaxing view from the Hot Tub on the porch.

Teeth

Teeth can be such a pain. I wish I would have know how important it was to take care of my teeth when I was younger. I have always had very porous teeth and one dentist even told me no matter what I did things were still going to stick to my teeth and cause cavities. Needless to say I have always had dental problems. I have had many cavities and there have been so many times I had to wait awhile before getting them fixed so I have had to deal with tooth sensitivity many times. Eventually I would get the courage to go to the dentist to take care of the sensitivity. But I never knew I could get special sensitive toothpaste to help with the pain.

I actually got the try Biotene toothpaste. I like it. My husband does too. He loves that it has a low foam formula, because he hates foamy toothpaste.



Biotene offers maximum sensitivity relief, and it not only masks the problem but helps to resolves the problem, it also protects from dry mouth with a special salivary enzyme protection, and with the ingredient Xylitol it helps fight cavities, it also fights plaque and works to defend gingivitis.

I was afraid it would taste horrible, but it isn't bad at all, and I am picky!
I really felt my mouth was fresh even after I woke up in the morning. I compared how I felt if I used my regular paste and if I used Biotene, and I have to say I felt like my breath was fresher in the morning after I used Biotene!

A little fun!

1. What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now?
Irish Spring for Josh, Dove for the rest of us
2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
Out of season, but I had some at Costco, on Saturday and t was YUMMY.
3. What would you change about your living room?
Need it to be bigger and new window so it isn't cold, couches I don;t need slipcovers for, they annoy me!
4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Dishwasher?? I wish!
5. What is in your fridge? lots of leftovers, just stocked up on organic milk, pumpkin roll...MMMM
6. White or wheat bread? I like ALL BREADS!!!
7. What is on top of your refrigerator? Bread box, cereal, all of Merci spelling lists from this year, a huge box of Quaker granola bars, cookies...lots of dust.
8. What color or design is on your shower curtain? tan with purple border all the way around, and across the top and bottom a purple paisley pattern. I love it.
9. How many plants are in your home? 1...barley...haha
10. Is your bed made right now? Nope, waste of time.
11. Comet or Soft Scrub? Comet for my OLD porcelain sinks, gotta scrub off the scuffs often
12. Is your closet organized? Which one? Not in my room, but the dining room one is!
13. Can you describe your flashlight? My kids break all of our flashlights...it is annoying.
14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic more at home? plastic
15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? nope, but been thinking about it.
16. If you have garage, is it cluttered? YES, we have a 2 car garage, and we con;t park in it, tool, tools, tolls and more tools and lots of wood.
17. Curtains or blinds? blinds
18. How many pillows do you sleep with? uno and a blankey!
19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night? Nope and we cover the alarm clock too!
20. How often do you vacuum? hopefully weekly
21. Standard toothbrush or electric? standard, but the kids are getting electric for Christmas!
22. What color is your toothbrush? pink,Purple, and white
23. Do you have welcome mat on your front porch? nope
24. What is in your oven right now? crumbs, grease...needs a good cleaning.
25. Is there anything under your bed? storage containers with hotwheels...lots of them still in the package, a box with all of our old love notes etc...AWE! Not sure what else, i just found a bunch of clothes the other day!
26. Chore you hate the most? cleaning the bathroom, tub, toilet, floor....yuck.
27. What retro items are in your home? Hmmm...I am not against retro, just don't have anything.
28. Do you have separate room you use an an office? basement is where our desk and big computer is, laptop is on the dining room table, it is too cold down there.
29. How many mirrors are in your home? not too many
30. Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? lots of rolled coins and loose ones, a few hundred buck...I guess we could use it in an emergency.
31. What color are your walls? Living room.. golden tan... Dining Room .. Fireweed (terra cotta reddish color...love it).. KITCHEN...you don't want to know...green plastic tiles, cute flowery walpaper, orangish wood cabinets...YUCK...Computer room..basement-white plastic from when they waterproofed. BEDROOM-chocolate brown... Kids rooms...Ethan is snowy day (blue) Merci is yellow Bathroom purple/cream Hallway... tan
32. What does your home smell like right now? not sure...Merci said it smelled like my grandma's house last night...LOL
33. Favorite candle scent? like lots
34. What kind of pickles are in your refrigerator right now? none...but there will never br sweet ones!
35. Ever been on your roof? NO...
36. Do you own a stereo? A receiver has the radio
37. How many TV’s do you have? 2
38. How many phones? 3 and 2 cell
39. Do you have a housekeeper? in my imagination
40. What style do you decorate in? different, like modern, asian inspired, I think
41. Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? solid...prints for accents
42. Is there a smoke detector in your home? yep..it goes off when there is too much steam coming out of the bathroom...touchy!

Yummy

I am going to share a delicious recipe with you. It is a favorite Fall/holiday recipe for many, but I like to make it a bit different.

Pumpkin Roll

You will need:

For cake:
powdered sugar
3/4 C all-purpose flour ( I use half whole what to make myself feel better!)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 C sugar
2/3 C pumpkin (regular)

For filling:
12 oz cr. cheese
1 C powder sugar
9 TBSP butter (soft)
2 tsp vanilla

#1Preheat oven to 375 degrees, grease a jelly-roll pan or any baking sheet with edges, after greasing line with wax paper, now grease the top of the wax paper & flour it. Bake for 13-25 minutes until cake is springy!

#2While the cake is baking sprinkle a kitchen towel with powdered sugar. When the cake is done baking turn upside down on the sugared towel and peel the wax paper off. Roll the cake up in th towel. (start with narrow end) Cool.

#3Now you need to mix the filling ingredients up. I use a mixer to make it extra fluffy. And boy do I wish I had a Eclectrics® Mixer. Then I could just let the mixer mix the filling until it was fluffy, while I clean up my mess and watch to make sure I don't over cook the cake. I am always doing so many things at one I forget about something. Having a stand mixer would be SO convenient.

#4 Now you need to carefully unroll the cake , remove from the towel and spread the filling over the whole cake. You now need to re roll the cake and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve this YUMMY cake!

I suggest the Hamilton Beach® Mixer
Just because it is one of the best mixers out there. With so much power and capability, it makes making even the biggest mixing recipe easy!
Who needs elbow grease?



Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer
has more power, more power setting and much quieter operation than it's competition.
I think having one of these will open up more opportunity for baking in my house!
Sounds like a blast to use and makes things a lot easier.


I am putting this on my Christmas list this year, I just need to figure out hat color to choose!
It comes in 6 different colors: Pineapple, Licorice, Sterling, Apple, UltraMarine and Sugar!
They even have fun names=)

::7 Happy Years::

Today Josh and I celebrate 7 years of marriage.



7 years ago I was 19, and had a 4 month old baby girl. I was one of those blessed young moms whose boyfriend WANTED to marry me and be a father to his daughter. It was hard to imagine things working out, but they did and still are 7 years later. I will always be thankful to God for redeeming our mistake. All glory to Him!


I love you Joshua Ray and I always will.
I am truly thankful for you everyday.

(sorry the pictures aren't great quality, they had to be scanned in and 7 year ago...digital camera weren't the norm...and we had family take picture to save $...I love them though!)

I know you are out there

I know for a fact there are A LOT of Stephen King fans out there.
Am I right?

If you are one of them than you probably already know about his new movie coming out!

But for those of you who are not die hard fans here is the scoop:

The Mist by Stephen King is going to hit theaters November 21st, 2007.
(Yep, that means 10 more days!)

You know what Stephen King story I like....IT.
Don't know why but I think scary clowns and gremlin things are cute...maybe it is so I don't get too freaked out. I make myself think they are cute...haha.
But really I don't think IT is cute, I really don't like him and was scared for days after seeing IT.
My dad thought it was funny to make us watch scary movies...of course we didn't!

I think you should go watch the trailer and get all excited to see The Mist.
See what Stephen Kings new action thriller is all about.
You will be sitting on the edge of your seat by the end of the trailer and then you will just have to go see the movie.
I am sure you won't be disappointed.
Stephen King does NOT disappoint.

Guess what tommorow is?

Tomorrow Josh and I will celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary.
I really can't express how short these 7 years have seemed.
I love my husband more everyday and am so thankful for him.
I know without a doubt he is the man God has made just for me!

We went out to eat at Cheesecake Factory on Friday night while my brother took the kids to see Bee movie. We had a lovely dinner and great evening out.

BUT

Next weekend we get the whole weekend to ourselves=)
We are going to a cabin in a beautiful landscaped place in Southern Ohio.

More about that later and picture to come tomorrow (hopefully!)

Awareness for Alzheimer's

If you know of someone or are a caretaker of someone with Alzheimer's Disease, you may be interested to know they have a new estore where you can get some great items that will hold a special meaning to the recipient.

The holidays are coming and what a great holiday gift idea to give to someone who has a personal connection to the Alzheimer's Disease in any way.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has an online store where you can purchase some beautiful Hearts of Care jewelry. There are matching bracelet, pin, and necklace made of beautiful quality sterling silver. With all proceeds going to benefit The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

So many people in our lives and our community suffer from this terrible disease. It is very important to spread the awareness of this disease to everyone, because chances are you will be involved with someone suffering from this sickness in some way. It is so important for those suffering to receive quality care and medical help.
There is no better time to gift a donation in the memory or name of someone in your life, or buy a beautiful piece of jewelry from the estore.

The estore also has a video on sale that can be a great resource to you or someone you know who has to be a care taker to a victim of Alzheimer's disease.
The video is a step-by step educational tool to teach you hand on care in your home.

With the products for sale at their estore, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America hopes to raise awareness and enhance knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses, and further its mission of providing optimal care to those affected by dementia.

Proceeds from the sale of these products support the programs and services of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and its member organizations.

Costco Run

My Day:

I woke up and started on my algebra first thing, got one more lesson out of the way, got ready dropped E off at my aunts, dropped Merci off at my moms, met my friend Beth here and went to Costco! No kids,was nice got to really look around in peace! I found an awesome Kenneth Cole coat for $30...might even go back and buy more to sell on Ebay=) Came home changed my clothes...(had to try out my new coat), and then I headed to Toys R Us to get some Christmas gifts for E...not many times I don't have him with me. Then I went to pick E up and headed home to make mashed potatoes (I cheated and bought a Rotisserie chicken while I was out) and did the dishes, and here I am doing my post for today next is more algebra....Exciting I know=)

Flaunt it Friday

Taken With a Grain of Salt is hosting a fun little Friday posting opportunity! She is calling it:

Flaunt it Fridays
this weeks theme is Let the Cat Out of the Bag.

You are challenged to empty the contents of whatever kind of bag you carry with you daily, purse, diaper bag, book bag...etc.

She also thought it would be fun to guess something about the person by examining the contents of their bag!

Here is my contribution!



feminine products, coupon holder ( I love coupons), a few bucks, powder compact, camera case, cell phone, various pens, some rarely used lipstick, a wallet with stuff falling out because I am always in a rush and can never put stuff back!

Nothing too exciting and no designer bag here!

Do you have TALENT??

Can you sing, dance, model, tell jokes, or act?

Talent Rock is what you have been waiting for. This is a place to be if you wan to get "noticed". There will be many agents and scouts waiting for YOU!

May of 2008 is when you need to be there! Orlando Florida at the wonderful Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando Florida is where Talent Rock will be hosted this year.

Go to the website for more info and to sign up and HURRY so you are guaranteed a spot!

Holy Cow

I decided to try my hand at making my own blog header...I was gonna pay Drea, but then I thought I might like the challenge!!

Being the impatient person I am I posted the first basic thing I could get to work! I know it isn't perfect and it is pretty basic, but I will fix that! I am happy that I learned how to download and add fonts to GIMP...that was a big step in itself!

You better believe it will be changing a lot in the next while!

Any tips, I'd love to hear.

Ang you better watch out, I may learn to digi scrap after all...HAHA, I know let's take it one thing at a time!

I Remember when...

I was a young tomboy, I wanted to be in the military. Even in high school I took the ASVAB test. I did pretty well too. I had a few recruiters come to my house, and then I never acted upon anything. I am lazy, what made me think I could get through boot camp??
When I was at an Aviation museum, I got my own dog tags made up and wore them all the time!

When I was given the opportunity to review some dog tags made at QuickTrophy I was excited, because of my partiality to them (not only mine but my hubby used to be in the Navy). My brother in law is a big soccer player and really good, so I thought he might like this:

What a fun Christmas gift!

It came out great, was inexpensive and shipped really quick! I guess that is why they are called "Quick" Trophy!

Did your paycheck not cut it?

Sometimes your paycheck just won't cut it. Sometimes you worked less days than normal and you need to pay your rent or mortgage, but you just don't have the money. That is when
Faxless Payday Loans come in handy.

You can compare payday loan fees to make sure you get the best deal on your small short term loan. No credit check, just a small loan b/w $100 and $1500 to get you till your next paycheck.

All better!

If you don't remember or missed my story check it out
Rock Hits Car

Before

After
It is so shiny you can see me!
New paint on cars is so nice!

Great gift idea for your New York Lover

Do you have someone on your Christmas list who loves New York?

Why not but them a New York CityPass!

This incredibly prices booklet come with 6 tickets to New York Cities most popular spots.
Including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, including the Greek and Roman galleries, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum of Natural History, you also get to visit the top of the Empire State Building Observatory and a ride on the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise. This book also comes with transportation info and help tourist tips for your visit.

The price of these great little booklets is HALF OFF what you would pay for all of the tickets mentioned. Costing you only $65 for adults. And what else can be better than you getting to skip those long lines at the ticket windows?

These books can be sent overnight and gift wrapped also.

You have 3 months to use them if you start using your book after Dec 15th.

I have always wanted to go to New York City, and I am excited to tell my husband about this great deal, maybe we will get to go to New York City after all.

The only thing not included in this book is all the Sopping.
You have nothing to loose!

New York CityPass is on my list this year, and on my list of stuff to buy!

Do you have Aqua Dots?

Guess what...another recall. This is ridiculous...what is even safe to buy our kids for Christmas this year?

About 4.2 million Chinese-made children's toys were recalled Wednesday after U.S. regulators learned a chemical on the toy beads turns into a powerful "date rape" drug when swallowed.

Two children in the USA went into comas after ingesting beads that were part of Aqua Dots craft sets. They have since recovered, Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said. Three children in Australia, which also recalled the toy, were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

The toy, distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master, was sold in the USA in mass-merchandise stores from April through November of this year, CPSC said. Wal-Mart named Aqua Dots one of its 12 top toys this year, and it was the 2007 Toy of the Year in Australia.

The toy came with different accessories such as a drying fan, applicator pen, design templates for the beads and spray bottle. All versions are recalled. The product is labeled for ages 4 and up.

The beads can be arranged into designs. The chemical that allows them to fuse together when sprayed with water metabolizes in the body into the drug gamma hydroxybutyrate. GHB is known as a "date rape" drug because it can render users helpless.

Australian officials told Reuters that instead of the safe chemical 1,5-pentanediol, the potentially dangerous chemical 1,4-butanediol was used during manufacturing. When ingested, 1,4-butanediol becomes GHB. It can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, seizures, coma and death.

In the USA, a 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads, became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a coma. A second child also vomited and slipped into a coma.

Michael Brown, a former CPSC general counsel, says it's unlikely that required CPSC testing would have caught the presence of the chemical. "Who would ever think about that in a toy?" says Brown, now a product safety lawyer.

Brown says the switch is the kind of problem that occurs when manufacturers are trying to meet deadlines and run out of materials or try to cut costs.

"This is a horrifying recall," says former CPSC chairman Ann Brown, who is not related to Michael Brown. "We're just not seeing any let-up in the kinds of dangerous products that are coming in from China."

The toy was recalled in both the USA and Australia on Wednesday. Spin Master says it has stopped shipping the toy. Retailers have removed it from store shelves.

The Australian based Moose-Enterprises was the first to recall the toy which is sold under the brand name, Bindeez, in China,

Scientists say the effects on children who swallow the item can include drowsiness, seizures, unconsciousness and in some cases coma and death.

Consumers can contact Spin Master at 800-622-8339 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. More information can be found at the links provided below.

wondering?

In case you are wondering, we didn't get those 1-3 inches of snow they said. Which I am not too upset about=)

We are pretty cold here though. My house is so cold, there is no way it can be 70 degrees in here, no way at all. Off to my warm bed I go. Night Night=)

A Quick Fix!

I love how there is so much convenience nowadays.

You need a flat tire fixed, you have fix a flat, you need a code for something you have the internet...the list goes on.

If you need to fix a filling or cap...TADA...now you can do it by yourself! It is as easy as finding a store that sells Dentemp OS.

If you have ever had a cap fall out at an inconvenient time, like during dinner or at a friends house, you know the embarrassment you faced. If you would have known about this wonderful product maybe you wouldn't have been so stressed and knew pain relief was right around the corner until you could get to the dentist office.

I have never lost a filling or a cap, but I am sure I will experience this in the future. I would be so embarrassed and I am sure it wouldn't feel to good, having the bad part of your tooth exposed. I am glad to know about such a convenient, handy product.

Dentemp OS is a 60 minute quick temporary dental repair! It is easy to use an very convenient, and you can even save some for next time in the resealable bottle.



Dentemp OS fixes both loose caps and lost fillings, temporarily relieves pain. It is FDA approved!

The great features of this product are that is a one step application, instant pain relief, no mixing, reseallble bottle with multiple applications and it is clinically proven!

You have nothing to loose by trying Dentemp OS!