De-Junking...

My son loves his trinkets! Let me tell you! Every little piece of string and tiny eraser from a happy meal he will save.

It drives me crazy!

I am NOT a saver! Except for fabric and cook books... those things I hoard like the apocolypse is tomorrow.

So, I have been in his room all morning throwing out all the little trinkets and do-dads and thinga-ma-jigs that he has surely forgotten were there. (I found Valentine candy from 2 years ago, people! See what I mean?)

So, my hubby asks me to get out a shirt from the closet and iron it for him. He said he has nothing to wear. He starts pointing to shirts and saying "too old, too grungy...". I promptly pull out the shirts and toss them on the bed in a pile.

"What are you doing?!" he asks in an alarmed way.

"I'm putting them in the DI bag. You won't wear them anymore."

He gets this panicked look on his face.   Looks like there are 2 "savers" in this house.

No worries, I will just throw them out while he's at work. He'll never know!  heh heh heh...

I'm on a roll!!!!

Torture of Gigantic Proportions....

Hubby... needs to bring breakfast to work this morning for all his co-workers.

Me...Sure, no problem.

Hubby... "Everyone's looking forward to breakfast tomorrow."

Me... makes giant crock pot of homemade sausage gravy and buttermilk biscuits before bed last night. (*note: biscuits were NOT homemade, I can't make a decent fluffy biscuit to save my life. I've accepted this, thus the frozen Pilsbury biscuits.

Hubby... "don't forget the homemade sweet rolls. Everyone loved those last time."

Me.... over-achiever baker extraordinaire. I whip up a double batch of sweet roll dough before bed.

Me... wake up early to let rolls raise and make frosting.

Hubby.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (hee hee.... just kidding. He got up and worked out!)

Me.... taking hot, steaming rolls out of oven. Smothering them in fluffy cream cheese frosting.

Me.... on a calorie/ fat restrictive diet.

Me.... mouth watering, tummy growling. A cold snowy day screams for homemade warm deliciousness.

Me... feeding hubby and son the best looking sweet rolls in the whole world.

Me.... being strong and not eating a single bite.

Torture, torture, torture.   There will be other sweet rolls and other cold snowy days with deliciousness I can eat.  *sigh*

(Anyway, for those of you with mouths watering like mine, hop on over to my recipe blog HERE and make some for yourself! They really are fantastic.... I think.)

Random day off...

How did my son and I spend today? He had a random day off of school (for some teacher prep something or other. Whow knows?) so we enjoyed time together. What did we do?

We made a towering pagoda out of dominos. He kept saying "Good Job, mom. You're really good at this."  Nothing like your little son telling you good things about yourself to lift your self esteem!

We went and picked up tile at Home Depot for our basement. I nearly dropped it on my foot, and almost pulled a muscle in my back lifting it out of the cart. I almost wish I had, then my hubby would feel sorry for me and put the heating pad on my back, and feel guilty for not having been there himself. hee hee. My son told me I was pretty strong.... for a mom.

We went to the toy store where my son picked out a special birthday present for himself with money his Grandma and Grandpa sent him. Yep. He got another Webkinz. That kid and his little stuffed animals. He has such a soft spot for them. He told me once he knows he'll be a good dad because he takes such good care of his animals. It's true. While I gave my Barbies mohawks and melted their feet over the gas stove, he makes little beds for all his Webkinz. He knits little caps for each of them, and has made a towering Webkinz condominium!

We went out on a lunch date. That kid can put away a whole Training Table burger! And fries! And a drink! I don't know where he keeps it all, but he can eat me under the table now. Which means I will be buying him new pants soon. He seems to grow an inch every month! I'm not ready for a 10 year old! (Next week, by the way.)

We went Sunday shoe shopping, but didn't find anything. For some reason he doesn't love shoe shopping as much as his mommy. I just don't get it. Shoe shopping is my passion!

Not a bad random day off if you ask me!

Well... this is just the perfect thing for a mid-week laugh!

My Valentine's Day Rant.

To all you who say "Valentine's Day is Stupid"...

To all you who say "We shouldn't have to show our love to our significant others today just because someone  decided to make it an official day...."

To all you husbands who resent the fact that greeting card companies and chocolate makers and florists make a killing off this day because of all those dumb "schmucks" out there who feel they have to follow in the endless line of mindless sheep being lead to their slaughter with red hearts and boxes of chocolate...

I say, WHY NOT??? Why not just give in and enjoy the love all around you? Why not just buy that woman a little token of love, or make her a cute little hand-made card? You do love her, right? So is it so bad to show it on a day when everyone else is showing it as well... just because????  Why not just throw your arms open and embrace Valentines Day???!!!!

My husband did today, and you know what? He survived! And I think he actually may have enjoyed eating lunch with me in the park. So, see? It's not that bad!

It could be fun! (And you might get lucky!)

Ah... the traditional Valentine's Day.... Robot?

My son had been bugging me all weekend to help him make a Valentine box to put all his school Valentines in.

We brainstormed... and thought.... and pondered.

We finally came up with this last night:  "Robo Rampage"

The head opens to "feed" the robot his valentines:

The belly opens to retrieve the valentines. It is held closed by magnets!

My son, however, refused to let me put a cute metal heart on his chest. Boys. *Sheesh*

Isn't he cute, though? And the robot is, too! :)

So I'm really a 6 year old.... so sue me!

I waited all day long yesterday to talk to my son's teacher about something.

It was parent/teacher conferences. No, I wasn't going to talk to him about how much I strongly disagree with timed math tests. No, I wasn't going to mention that he really needs to send notes home to the parents letting them know when a field trip is coming up rather than expect 9 year olds to be responsible enough to tell their parents about said field trip before the DAY OF!

Then, what was so important to discuss with him, you ask?

Valentines Day!

I sat at his desk with anxious anticipation. Yes...yes... great on reading.... doing better in math....blah blah blah... ok, I get it, I have a good kid..... blah... blah.... 

Now let's get to the meat of this conference.

"So..." (I sat on the edge of my seat, licking my lips with nervous energy.) "Are you having a Valentine's party on Monday, and does my kid need to make some kind of valentine box, and can he bring treats?"

(Of course, I knew the answer would be yes to all 3 questions. It's Valentines Day, for heaven's sake. What teacher doesn't do that kind of thing in their class....... I didn't take into account male teachers.)

"Well... you know...."

(Uh oh... I hadn't expected this. I know what???? What do I know??? That Valentine's day is the perfect holiday with love and hearts and candy and fun ingeniously decorated valentine card boxes and holders? What?)

"Coming from a Jr.High background..." (Oh no... Jr. High? Nothing good can come from JR. High!)  "I feel that 4th graders are really expected to step it up in their school work and accountability. I guess I just figured we'd skip the whole kiddy valentine party this year."

(What? What's that he's mumbling? Something about valentine's and skipping? Am I hearing right?)

*blink* *blink*

"But.... I guess the kids are really kind of expecting it, so we'll do a read-a-thon most of the day..."

*blink* *blink*
"... and a small party the last half hour of class. They can pass around their little cards and treats then, I guess."

*blink* *blink*

"So, yes... your son can make a valentine's box and bring valentines and treats for everyone on Monday."

(sigh of relief!) "Great! I'll make sure he does that!"

(Translation: I'll make sure he's at least somewhere in the house when I assemble every red and white thing I can find and create the most spectacular valentine's box in the history of the world for me to put all my valentines... I mean, HIM, to put all of his valentines in.)

I mean, come on! What teacher doesn't let their kids do Valentines?????? That's just obsurd!~

(That teacher doesn't know how narrowly he avoided having the principal called in to intervene! Lucky for him I knew he was really joking, even if he didn't.)

And yes... I am truly a child at heart. And in many other respects. More outwardly than at heart, actually. Especially when it comes to Valentine's Day!

keep the change...

Dear Car Change Thief (Heretofore known as CT),

I do not begrudge you my change. In fact, if you had come to my door and said "I am going to steal the change out of your car, but I'm giving you the chance to just give it to me if you'd rather" I would probably have given it to you. I do, however, disapprove your chosen method of getting it. Although, I do appreciate you leaving my cd's this time. You probably learned from the last pillaging that my cd's are not your usual "popular" music. I imagine most petty thiefs don't usually listen to opera divas, obscure musicals, and bluegrass , but that's just a guess. So, thank you for leaving the cd's.  Next time, however, would you mind gently removing them instead of tossing them all over the car? My "Wicked" cd got a nasty scratch on it, which I sincerely hope is not on "Defying Gravity" because that will make me even more resentful.

I understand your need to support your drug habit, although I do think rummaging through people's cars at night collecting spare change seems a bit counter-productive. Wouldn't a part-time job pay more per hour? Oh, but you must have been after my collection of Conference Center parking tokens. That must be it. Well, I hope you use them. And then feel the need to repent and
BRING BACK MY CHANGE HOLDER!!!!!

Really? You had to actually remove the change holder and take it with you???? It wasn't valuable. In fact, the book that was sitting on the floor of the back seat, in the sack, with the receipt still in it was worth at least $10.65. You could have just taken that and returned it for cash! But, no... you had to have that black plastic change holder. Well, to each his own, I guess.

You do realize, however, that there most likely will not be a next time. See, I had actually learned my lesson from your last visit. I now lock my car doors every night! (My dear. sweet hubby, however, does not.) He is very sorry my change holder is gone, too. In fact, so sorry that he has been researching various ways to ensnare you. Just a warning: they seem a bit... uncomfortable... (Ok, I'll admit, he hasn't been doing anything of the sort. I have, however! I've lost my patience with you!!!!)

I am going to put up some lost posters today with a picture of my change holder. Surely someone will have seen it about. May your filthy conscience feel a tinge of regret and dig at your heart mercilessly until you return my change holder to me. That's all I want. My change holder.

You can keep the change.

It's in the signs...

This is the 3rd and last post for today. I promise! (there are two others before this one.)

I just had to post the picture of shame.  A few days ago I put a large brown cabinet outside that had been in our kitchen the past few years. It is a piece of ____, and I had no desire to keep it.  So, there is no better way to get rid of junk around here than to put it out on your front lawn with a sign that says "Free". (Well, actually, the best way would be to just put it out there, not intending for it to be taken at all, in which case it would surely be snatched up!)

Anyway, in the interest of speed, I wanted to make sure everyone in the area knew it was free. Take it. Now! So, I put under the "Free" sign, a spanish word. I googled it. Google is always right, isn't it? I typed "Free, in spanish" into the Google search bar. It gave me this:

I was later informed that "Gratis" would have been more appropriate. I, however, am of the belief that "Libre" expressed more aptly exactly how I felt at finally getting rid of this beast, and finally FINALLY starting my kitchen remodel!

I am liberated!!!!!

Bountiful Baskets are Bountiful!

Wow, two posts in one day! This is unusual! (Oh, you must read the kitchen remodel update below if you haven't yet!)

So, a few weeks ago I purchased my first Bountiful Basket from the food co-op group. Let me just say, it is both Bountiful, and Basket-y! (Well, it all comes in a laundry basket, if you can count that as a basket, but it was certainly bountiful!)

I thought I'd take a picture of what we got. This was what was in the regular basket ($15- assorted fruits and vegetables.) Look at all those lemons!

And this is everything thing we purchased, including the add-on italian mix with lots of fresh herbs!!!

We paid $24 for all of this. And for kicks, my hubby and I went to the grocery store and priced every single thing to see if we had saved anything. Guess how much we would have spent at the grocery store for all of this? $67!!!! That's right! We saved a whopping $43, and the quality was unbeatable!

I will definitely be doing this again, and again!
(You can sign up HERE to join. You don't have to volunteer to help sort if you don't want, and you truly get an amazing assortment! They also offer delicious breads and granola as well!)

Don't come over! Whatever you do!

To anyone thinking of coming over to visit. This is what you would find when I open my front door:

No, we haven't converted our livingroom to an all-in-one studio apartment. Nor have we created the ultimate everything-at-your-fingertips man-cave for my hubby (much as he would like!).

No, our home is a total construction zone right now.

If you venture into the kitchen, you will see this:

(Most of the time this week I have had to go out the front door, around to the back of the house, and in through the back door to go downstairs. So, I've been doing this every morning- in the freezing cold temperatures, mind you- to make breakfast!)

Notice the brand new countertop! (See it peeking out... just there?)

And the beautiful new tile floors? (yes, it needs grout. Thus, again, I will be forbidden to walk through my kitchen to get to the basement. *sigh*)

BUT... and this is a big but.... my kitchen is FINALLY almost finished!!!! We still need to move some cabinets over to the other wall, install the dishwasher (sitting in a gigantic brown box in the livingroom), paint, and put in the backsplash tile, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!!

Until then, however, we will continue to trudge outside to get to the kitchen downstairs (at least I've had a kitchen to use through all of this!), and will develop further "black" lung as we inhale all the dust and white film that seems to have settled on* every *single *surface* of this house!  Therefore, you'll excuse me if I act like I'm hiding something when I only open my front door a crack when you come knocking. You understand. One has to hide the large appliances that have taken over the living space!