Just Say No To Paneling

Today was my day off and I got a few things done. Dogs got baths, dusted, cleaned the hardwood floors, spot painted the kitchen trim, and filled in holes and patched areas in David’s room. If anyone ever wants to put paneling up I’d advise against it. I don’t know why anyone would want to put paneling up this day in age, but you never know. We have 2 bedrooms and one of our bathrooms with the paneling….obviously it’s all going to come down. We started with the upstairs spare bedroom that we call David’s room. It will eventually become a Vikings room. We’ve been slowly working on it for the past few weeks. Usually I’m in the mindset of “let’s get it done.” But with having the door closed it’s easy to forget about it and put it on the back burner. Originally it was to be David’s project and all the sudden the other day he said, “I’m going to need your help…you’re better at filling in the holes.” Right. I’m supposed to believe that? So guess what? He’s going to be good at sanding and painting. So the paneling is down, the holes have been patched…next up is sanding, painting the ceiling, painting the trim (even though David says it’s fine the way it is), and then the walls. We were pretty lucky with the shape the walls are in. They do have a form of weird wallpaper on them and we’re going to do the big no no of painting over it…..but if you could see the walls, you’d understand. I think the paper is helping hold the walls together. Some areas just want to crumble. But there was no glue involved in holding up the paneling. I hate to say it but I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky for the other 2 rooms. I’m 99% sure that the downstairs bedroom has some form of glue and then bathroom I’m not sure about. But the sink is going to have to come down in order to get the paneling down. Enough about paneling. We’re having dinner tonight with some friends and then of course we’ll be watching American Idol. This is the first year that we’ve actually watched the show and not just the tryouts and the end. It’s been interesting…I think a little more interesting for David. I can’t just sit still to watch it. I got to be doing something. But what’s new? I’m always moving. Time to get going….

Time To Donate!

Hey everybody. Just a friendly reminder that my cousin's wife Erika needs donations to help her attain her goal for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Marathon that is fast approaching. I know everyone goes through each week and says, "next week...." At least that's what I kept doing. But now is the time. Even a small donation adds to a bigger amount. I hope to add to what I've already donated and I ask you to help out in any way possible. Check out her Team Roth site and see what it's all about.

Girl Scout Cookie Time

I have a few minutes before heading to work. This weekend went fine. David was still on call so we couldn't go far. But we had fun with our little bit of time off. We went to Max and Erma's for dinner on Friday. We had a coupon for $5 off, so we figured we'd use it. They have one of those things going on, just like everywhere else, where you can choose an appetizer, entree, and dessert for one price. Since we figured we could splurge a bit we each got a 3 course dinner only to find out that the coupon couldn't be used with that type of promotion. I was just a bit peeved but it wasn't worth spoiling a good dinner with my husband. But FYI, if you try to use it, you can't...there was fine print, but it stated that it couldn't be used on daily specials. Whatever...it was a good meal and I got to spend some time with David. And we walked out feeling fat and happy. We went to Sears to pick up a weekly tool for David. That's what we've been doing. He gets a tool a week in order to build his inventory. Then we stopped at PacSun and we got some deals! They had 50% off their clearance and sunglasses for $6.99. So David got two pairs of shorts, a hat, and a pair of sunglasses for $23. Not bad, eh? And what was even better...we knew the shorts were on sale but we didn't know they were an additional 50% off until we checked out. Sweet. We made a few more stops and then headed home. Saturday, Saturday...what did we do Saturday? I can't remember much...must not have really done anything. Oh yeah, David received a call for work so we had to take care of that. And I got my first ice cream of the season from Dairy Queen. Obviously it wasn't my first ice cream of the season...it was our first trip to Dairy Queen. Went to dinner at Cedar Villa with the 'rents and then spent the night playing cards with our neighbors up the street. I hadn't played cards since I was probably in 6th grade, in the hospital, when Grandma R taught me how to play rummy. For real. But we had a joyous time and learned how to play Contract Rummy. And guess what? I won. I'm serious. So that was even better. Oh yeah, we got our Girl Scout cookies from Cass on Saturday. Yum Yum in the tum tum. Needless to say I'm already down a box. The Thin Mints didn't even make it to the freezer before they were opened. What is better than Girl Scout cookies?? Okay, there are some things, but you have to admit they are pretty good. Sunday was spent bumming around as usual. Got grocery shopping done and things like that. I ended up having kennel duty by default so I had to stop into work a few times to let a dog out and then we chilled the rest of the day...really it was quite a lazy day. That is all the time I have for now...Have a beautiful day no matter where you are.

Monday's Thought For The Day

Sign of Spring?

As we headed out to dinner we went past Dairy Frost and it was open! Say what? That's a sure sign of spring, right? Just the other day I saw that the owner's car was there. I even said to David I'm sure they'll be open in March. But it was a surprise that it was opened today. We had planned to stop on our way home and they were already closed. Man. I know we'll have many more times this year to get our goodies though. Then we were talking, I'm wondering if they were even selling ice cream yet...maybe just candy. Dunno. Whatever, McDonald's ice cream fulfilled my craving...at least for today that is. Can you tell I love ice cream???

Throw Me Something Mister!

If we lived in New Orleans we'd have the day off because it's.....

Mardi Gras!!!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler...

Monday's Thought For The Day

Happy To Be Me

As usual, we had an enjoyable weekend and don't want the work week to begin yet. On Saturday morning I worked and then that afternoon we battled some snow flurries and went out to get some things done. We decided to go see Music and Lyrics at the movies during the late afternoon. It was too cute and funny at the same time. We had hoped to see it earlier in the week but couldn't because of the massive amount of snow. Anyway, it was very good and I recommend seeing it. And as I always say I am the luckiest person in the world for having my husband. Of course for multiple reasons, but one thing is that he'll watch and go to the movies to see chick flicks. And not only does he not complain but he often wants to see them just as much as me. Not to mention he has to take criticism from those around him for watching them and them saying that he's "whipped". And ya'll know that he's not just trying to impress me by watching them because if he's still doing that after 4+ years of being married that'd just be crazy. So as I said, I highly recommend it especially if want a good laugh (I didn't know Hugh Grant could be that funny) and want a warm fuzzy movie.
Justin and Cass also came into town on Friday evening so we got to spend some time with them throughout the weekend. Of course we did the usual...Chet and Matt's. Otherwise we just hung out. Since they were in town we got to keep Sloopy and as usual he keeps the cats on their toes while giving us a few laughs and many smiles. You can't resist when you come down in the morning and all he wants to do is circle your legs and beg for your love and attention.
I got some school work done tonight. Have I told you yet how much I dislike my speech class? God love it, but it's giving me anxiety. I don't have a problem with the speech part of it, it's just putting everything together and trying to plan everything out to make sure I have enough time to do everything. One more step to my degree....
With that being said I've noticed recently that I am not as positive as I used to be like I was back in the early years of high school. I shouldn't say recently...actually I've been noticing it for a long time. Man, I used to be so happy go lucky and wanted to bring sunshine to everyone's life. What happened and where has all the negativity come from? Instead of opening my mind as life continues, it has begun to close off. Anyone else ever notice this has happened as they age? It's not like I'm unhappy with my life. On the contrary, I love my life and those in it. I think the negativity started when people were constantly putting me down for being that "happy go lucky person". I could only handle so much criticism then my happiness slowly turned to negativity. Then you add the stress of everyday life...worrying about money, your job, trying to make people happy for the wrong reasons....So that's where I am. I'm now trying to slowly change that negativity into happiness for myself. Trying to stop judging people. Because if I remember correctly, I don't liked to be judge. I'm trying to open my mind and trying to live in the moment. Not trying to run around so much. For instance David and I were in the car today and I was just enjoying my time. I wasn't worried about where I was going or how long it was taking us to get there...I was enjoying that one moment with my husband. I want to just "be" and then that will turn into my own happiness that I can in turn spread around. Corny, I know, but I think well worth it. I think that's why I like the blog so much. It's a release for me. Who cares if no one reads it. I write it and it makes me feel better and allows me to put whatever I want to say, pictures I want to post, or anything I want and no one can say "you can't do that." And if people think it's stupid. So what. Same thing with the Crocs. Although I know about every person in the world has them now I can finally wear something that is bright and crazy that screams "this is me". I used to wear bright stuff all the time because that is who I was...I am still that person. I have always been able to continue to wear bright things, but the Crocs have helped me to enter back into the world of being me and wearing what I want to wear and not worrying about whether the person walking past me thinks they're God awful. Actually I love seeing people's eyes watch my feet as I walk past...I always wonder, "hmmm, I wonder what they're thinking." But in no way am I worried about what they're thinking. Alright, I'm deep into this now, but I think y'all get what I mean. I want to be happy to be me again and I got to say, it's coming.

On a much lighter note, we actually booked our trip to Hawaii last night! Sweet. I've been saying "Our Hawaii trip...." But it is now truly ours. How very exciting and something so great to look forward to. I hope everyone had a bright and enjoyable weekend that continues through the work week. Good night.

Allysen's Birth

The Snow Has Arrived

Everyone got home safe last night. David's work van ended up freezing up on him while he was on Route 2. We're talkin' no brakes, not being able to steer, or anything. So he coasted to a stop and called his supervisor for assistance. They called to have it towed and his supervisor brought him home. In the meantime his supervisor got his car stuck outside the front of our house. With the assistance of a guy that came out of the blue and David, they got it loose. It's amazing how people come together in a time of need, isn't it? Mom was working over and it took her awhile to get to her car from the inside of the plant. It's not that it's a long distance but the wind mixed with snow burns your face and then she had to bust open he doors and kick her driver side door open. She ended up pulling forward out of the parking spot as the drift behind her car was up to the trunk of her Sunfire. She said it was the worse driving conditions she had ever driven in. The amount of snow isn't as bad as the blizzard in the 70's but the wind and visibility were much worse according to her. As usual, the pictures don't do justice. Luckily I already have today off since that's how my schedule falls. David wasn't so lucky. But when he got up he called in to see if anyone was there. At 6am only 3 people had arrived and 2 trucks were already stuck in the parking lot. Obviously David stayed home. It looks like most of the blowing has ceased and we'll be heading out to start shoveling here soon.