Friday, November 30, 2007

TGIF
Finally. I have been waiting for this day since Monday! It's so hard to believe that today is the last day of November already. Where did the month go?
My plan today is to get my butt in gear and get the Xmas decorations out. I still have the Thanksgiving ones on my porch. Oops. We finished painting the living room and patching the windows. I remember when we bought this house thinking how exciting it is to own a new home (this one was built in 1999). We are the second owners. Having a newer home isn't at all that great. Our first house was built in the 1950's and it was solid and sturdy. This one they must have slapped together. We've already replaced the A/C two years ago, the pool has been resurfaced, one of the bathrooms needed a complete shower remodel, and the windows are leaking (we have no idea why). Steve spent all last week, chiseling out the damage and redoing them. The he recaulked outside and inside. So, if this doesn't work, we give up. We are slowly prioritizing what we have to redo. Next on the agenda is to paint the exterior and new some new tile. I have a tile entry that has these fine hairline cracks. A few weeks ago, I was sitting here at my computer and I could hear them cracking. At first I was considering replacing the carpet with hardwood, but who knows what will be under the carpet when we pull it up. I may have to stick with carpeting and just have them focus on correcting the problem of why the tiles are cracking. They are also cracking in my kitchen and master bathroom. You can even hear the hollow spots under the tile.
Two weeks from today, we head off to our annual Very Merry Christmas party at Walt Disney World. Woo Hoo. I so need to get out of Tampa for the day. I just need a break. Unfortunately, we are only going for the party. The schools changed their schedule so the kids this year go all the way up to December 21. Last year they got out December 15. There was some big deal about "Christmas" and "Holiday" breaks with some groups so the district just did away with them. So, we are only going up Friday night and coming home on Saturday. The kids start their exams on Monday.
I've been slowly getting my Christmas shopping started. It's not so fun now that the kids are older. I miss buying them toys and clothes. I don't even attempt to buy them clothes. So, I've picked up a few things and they will just get gift cards. Elizabeth loves Starbucks so she will get one of those, Greg loves Moe's (it's a Mexcian restaurant and he and his friend always go there), and Emily will get a gift card to the movie theatre down the street. They'll still get other things too. I do still get to buy toys for Mark. He loves Spongebob so I have gotton him a few Spongebob items.
Well, off to get my day started. One more kid to get out the door. Have a great Friday.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Yeah. They won! I have been a avid Dancing With the Stars fan since the very first season. I love that show!!! I was so happy that they won last night. I would have been happy with Mel B. winning too but I think Helio was the man! He was so fun to watch and evolve each week. My problem now is whatever will I watch on Monday and Tuesday nights? I am anxiously awaiting the next season and to see who will be strapping on their dancing shoes.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Can I have a "do over" Monday? You would think after long holiday weekend, I would be up and ready to go. I just want today to be over!!!!

First, woke up this morning to the smoke alarm "chirping". It's never done that before (it's ADT). Recently Emily set it off cooking a grilled cheese. It definately works. They (ADT) even called to make sure everything was okay. Steve thought maybe the battery needed check so he got up on the ladder before work to check. It's hard wired. So, I call ADT. Ray tells me there is nothing wrong with our system and that we must have an "independant" smoke detector in the house that is sending a signal to the smoke detector that is beeping. After I thought about it, t there is no way we have an "independant' smoke dectector. I called back and Cathy walked me through checking the system. She recommended that I get up on a ladder and blow it out with the hair dryer. Sometimes, dust can do that. I did it and reset the alarm. After 20 minutes of peace and quiet, it starts chirping at me again. I called back time #3. This time, I get the "it's not our alarm. Our alarms don't chirp. " Now I am mad. Don't tell me that the alarm is not beeping. I am standing right undereath it! So, I got to Lowes (I had to pick up some stuff anyway). I thought maybe I will just get a can of air and blast the heck out of the thing before I rip it out. The beeping is getting on my last nerve. They are out of air. So, I tell the guy what's wrong and he asks me if I checked the battery. I tell him it's hard wired. He says all smoke detectors have a battery back up. So, I buy some batteries and come home. Get up on the ladder and son of a gun, there is a battery compartment. It's flush with the system. You really had to be looking for it to see it. So, I change the battery, problem solved. LESSON LEARNED: Even though the smoke detector is hard wired, there is a battery in there. I understand that now but why in the world did the ADT people not know that??????? I wasn't some dumb customer who didn't know what she was talking about. Don't tell me that it wasn't making a noise when I was standing under it and it was! Geesh.......

Fast forward to picking Mark up from school. He gets in the car and tells me that he got a "red" in his folder. Red is bad! Green is good. Yellow okay. I asked him why he got red? In his folder is a note from the teacher. I didn't initial his folder from last Tuesday. I did sign and return all the papers but I forgot to initial the folder. He also didn't bring his libary book back. He was using the library book for a book-it report which isn't due until Friday. We weren't done with the book. He also had a note to bring in the report. It clearly says due November 30. He also had a check for talking (which would have only put him on yellow). But since I forgot to initial his folder and he didn't bring a book in that he is still using he got a red. Do I get mad at him? After I spoke to him about talking, I decided to just let the red mark go. I volunteer in the classroom tomorrow morning so I will set it straight with his teacher. So, I just want to crawl into bed and start another day.

Older kids will be rolling in soon. ugh. Who knows what problems/dilemnas they will bring home. It's always something.

Well, off to enjoy the last few minutes of peace and quiet. Hope you all had a better Monday than me.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Happy Day after Thanksgiving! I wanted to post yesterday, but it got totally chaotic. We had a great day. It was just us this year. After dinner was over, we all sat and played two games of Disney trivia. I love that game. Even Mark can answer questions.


Today, I'm locking myself in my scrapbook room and cleaning and organizing it. I've decided to go back to my simple way of doing things. I was just getting so overwhelmed by all the layouts in the magazines with all their embellishments and lack of pictures, that I went into a slump. So, I'm going through all my stuff and keeping/organizing/pitching stuff I just won't use. I've participated in swaps over the years and just have stuff I won't use. I still love my brads and primas. I've recently fallen in love with buttons. I take alot of pictures so I was just stressing myself out when I would see one photo per page and sooooooooooo much other stuff. So, I am hoping to get some pages completed. What's the best part of it all? ABC Family is showing sappy Christmas movies all day. So, today there will be no cooking, cleaning, laundry, or driving kids around. I even joked that I'm not even putting make up on. That's a scary thought in itself but I am taking the day off.

Have a great Friday.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Childhood Memories
Joe Nuxhall
1928-2007
Do you have a childhood memory that will forever be "etched" in your mind? When I was growing up, my dad would listen to the Reds game on the radio. We weren't allowed to watch a lot of TV so the radio was on a lot. I remember being outside while my dad worked in the yard or on his car and he would listen to the Joe Nuxall and Marty Brenneman call the game. There was something special about this duo and their voices were so unique. Even while living here in Florida, we would listen to them on the satellite radio. If we are lucky enough to get a Reds game on TV, we will turn down the sound and listen to Marty and Joe. Everytime we go home to Cincy, we try to go to a game. We look for the broadcast booth so we can catch up glimse of them. Sadly Joe lost his battle with cancer last night. Joe would always end a broadcast with his famous quote "This is the old left-hander, rounding third and heading for home," Rest in peace, Joe. Thanks for the great memories.
TGIF---Yeah. It's been a very long (yet somewhat fast) week! Baseball is officially over. WOO HOO is all I have to say about that. Even though the weather has finally cooled down and making the games "pleasant", I was done. You can only watch so many baseball games. We have 2 months off and then we start back up in February--assuming Greg makes the team again. So, now he can focus on his school work and conditioning.


My to do list is actually pretty simple today. The grocery store, BJ's (for the best pumpkin pies) and Pier One. Then I need to tackle Mt. Washmore again. Everytime I get all caught up I keep telling myself that if I just do a load a day I can keep up with it. But for some reason, that isn't working for me. I'm always on the run.


One month from today we will be heading over to Walt Disney World for our annual Christmas at Disney celebration. We love it there. This may be our last year all together since Elizabeth will be off to college next year. Hopefully, it won't. She loves Disney. So, maybe she will surprise us and make it work. There is nothing more spectacular than seeing Disney World all decked out for Christmas. I need to start working on my Christmas cards. Jolene George you have inspired me with all your Christmas cards. They are beautiful.


It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here! Where did the month of November go? It's just us this year. Usually my friend Patti comes down but it just didn't work out this year. Bummer. We'll miss you Patti, Krissy, Megan & Hayleigh. Maybe next year. I went ahead and bought a HUGE turkey this year. I decided I want leftovers this year. I'm going to try my luck with some kind of casserole or soup. Usually we have enough leftovers for another meal but I decided to try something new this year. So, if anyone has any leftover recipes they would like to share, please do. Put them on your blogs! Maybe we can get lots of good recipes. I don't know about anyone else, but I love reading blogs with recipes.


Well, time to get my Friday started. Before you know it, the kids will roll in and the "quiet" will be over. Happy Friday, everyone!

Friday, November 09, 2007

Interview Over
Well, Elizabeth's interview is a thing of the past! Cindi guessed the person after only two clues. In case you didn't read the comments, Elizabeth interviewed Jenna Bush. She woke up yesterday a bundle of nerves. She looked so "professional". She wore her black slacks, a new shirt (In my day, we called them blouses) and she swept her hair up. She wore her black heels. She looked so good! (I am biased though). First thing she did when she got home from school was loose the heels. She claimed her feet were killing her. The school campus is huge so she had to talk all over the place. She's a flip flop gal. She didn't take her camera. "Her photographer" from the newspaper got to go in with her and took all the pictures. He has promised us copies of all the pictures he took. Elizabeth said Jenna was super nice and made her so comfortable. She also met Jenna's friend who was the photographer for the book. Even she took pictures. Liz said she made such an impact on her with her work with UNICEF that somehow she wants to help. I'm so proud of her. I think this will be an experience that she will remember always.
It's finally Fall here in Florida. We are in the high 70's during the day and 50's at night. It's wonderful. My AC has been off for a week now. Yesterday, I treated myself (which I NEVER do) to a small shopping spree and got some warmer clothes. I got 2 pairs of jeans, 2 shirts and a new purse. I'm a purse junkie. I have more purses than I have jeans! Thank you Lisa. I blame her.
Thank goodness the weekend is finally here. Yeah. As of now, no baseball game tomorrow. That doesn't mean we won't get an email at 10 tonight but I sure am enjoying the fact that tomorrow is my "day off". Hopefully I can get Steve started on my "Honey Do" list. We still haven't finished painting. The living room and dining room need to be done. So, I told him that we won't be putting our Xmas tree up until it gets done. (It's been since January that we started this project). Since it's HIS family coming down for Xmas and not mine, maybe it will get done. He's been out of town the last couple of days so I am sure when I ask him to work on the list, he will say he has to go into the office since he's been away. That's what he usually does. He was raised that you call a repair man or handy man to fix everything. Well, we can't afford that. I was raised the opposite. My dad could fix anything. Repair men weren't allowed in our house. But, he tries when he can. How hard can it be though to hang vertical blinds? They've been sitting in the garage for almost a month and a half. The ones up over the sliding door have been broken for years! Yes I said years. So, hopefully, I will have nice working vertical blinds hung this weekend.
Today, I'm off to volunteer in Mark's classroom. Yippee. After doing it all this years I think I'm burned out on it. BUT, I did it for the other kids, and I will do it for him.
Cindi, I will get your goodie package out to you this weekend. I'm pretty sure I have your address. If not, I will email you to get it.
Time to get my day started. Have a wonderful Friday!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

WOW. Cindi guessed it! How in the world did you figure that out after only 2 very vague clues? I'm so impressed.

Tomorrow morning, Elizabeth will be interviewing Jenna Bush (aka the President's daughter). It's not a political interview. She's interviewing her about the book she wrote.

Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush, Illustrated by Mia Baxter

How cool is that? She is coming tomorrow morning to the high school to talk to the kids about this book. Elizabeth scored the only interview. She read the book and she said it was awesome. She recommends that everyone read it. Politics aside, you have to admit that this is a great opportunity for my future journalist. She is just thrilled and has been working on her interview questions. We went shopping and she has her "interview" outfit all ready to go. I'm so proud of Liz and what a memory she will have as she enters the next phase of her life.

So, hopefully tomorrow I will have more to share--hopefully some pictures too.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Mystery Interview

CLUE #2 This person recently became engaged. Maybe "famous" is not the correct word to describer her but "important" is a better word (depends on who you ask).

I know the clues aren't very helpful, but if I give the ones I really want to, then people will guess her pretty quickly. So, on Thursday morning, after she has her interview, I will post the clues that will give it away.

Good guess, Cindi, but it's not Jessica Simpson. (EDITED--Jessica does have somthing in common with her though)

Happy guessing!


Monday, November 05, 2007

GUESS WHO GAME


I've given it some thought (and Cindi also suggested it), and I want to see if anyone can guess who Elizabeth will interview this coming Thursday morning. I will post one clue a day and I will send a small scrapbooking "goodie envelope" to the first person to guess correctly.

CLUE #1 It's a young "twenty something" female.

Good Luck..............

Thursday, November 01, 2007

WOO HOO

Just a real quick entry. This is pretty mean of me to post and not give out all the details. BUT, I don't want to jinx it for Elizabeth. I will post all the details and hopefully a picture next Thursday night. BUT, I can tell you this. Elizabeth is one of the editors of her high school newspaper (there are 2). The newspaper is rated #1 in the state by SIPA. She is a senior and plans to take Journalism in college. She has already applied to the University of Florida. She has a few other applications that she is working on as well. Anyway, her high school has a "famous" person coming to speak next week. Elizabeth scored the interview! She is the only person to be granted an interview. Not even the local media gets to interview this person. The scrapbooking mom in me wants to be there with camera in had so bad but even I don't get to go. So, we are all still floating on cloud nine. We are going shopping this weekend for a new "interview" outfit.

So, I told you that this was mean of me. But, I don't want to blow this. You never know who's out there in cyber space. I promise to give out all the details one week from tonight. So stay tuned...............................