Wednesday Haiku to You

This time of the year

 

Our hearts are filled with Amour

 

Be my Valentine!

Mustache Monday

Not only is it Mustache Monday but it is the birthday to one of the most famous mustaches ever!

Happy 77th Birthday Mr. Burt Reynolds!!!  Hope you are on the mend from the flu!

Wednesday Haiku To You

I decided to keep going with my Wednesday Haiku to you.  So here is the first installment.

And so it begins

Em's starting high school next year

I'm a total wreck!

A Great Big Ole Thanks!

Dear Downton Abbey,

Thank you for not ripping my guts out this week like you did last week.  I was so upset, I could barely read my bingo card!

If you want your own set of Downton Abbey Bingo Cards, go here.

The New Monday

I used to do a Johnny Depp Monday each Monday.  Now, I still love me some Johnny Depp,  but I believe that I have taken Johnny Depp Monday as far as it can go. 

I am now starting up...MUSTACHE MONDAY!!!

Our first installment of Mustache Monday comes from New Years Eve.  We love spending New Years with our very good friends.  They live up in Wisconsin on a large farm.  We had an awesome time hanging out, dancing, sledding, and snowmobiling.

Prognosticator of Prognosticators

It hasn't happened for a few years, but Groundhog Day fell on a Saturday this year.

Now, we love Groundhog day, we love the folklore...we love the traditions...we love the movie.

 So, it is only fitting that we spend this glorious day where they shot the movie.

At 5:30 this morning, we walked out the door, dressed in our long handles (Vivi's word for Long Johns) each of us armed with a travel mug and drove an hour up to Woodstock, IL.

Woodstock is the location where they shot the movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray.  And just like the movie, they make a huge production not only out of the day, but the whole week before Groundhog day.

There's a pancake breakfast, a dinner dance, an official breakfast, a walking tour, a chili cook-off, and they show the movie in the local theater all weekend.

But, the most important thing to us was the prognostication.  We wanted to stand in the freezing cold and watch silly dressed men take a rodent out of tree trunk, pretend to talk to it and tell us whether it's going to get warm enough for me to shave my legs.

The very best news was, according to Woodstock Willie, he absolutely, positively, did not see his shadow!!  Break out the razors, it's gonna be an early spring!


My very good friend, DeeDee and her family came with us.  Groundhog day is a very special day for them.  That's when the youngest member of their family came into the world 8 years ago. 

We had a wonderful morning, watching the ceremony, dancing to the Polka music, and then off to a fabulous breakfast at a local diner.  We couldn't stay all day because the girls had dentist appointments this afternoon.

This is what happens when you get up at 5AM to see a prognosticating rodent.

But next year, it falls on a Sunday!!!  I will be completely Groundhogged out!!!

Han Solo and Honey Boo Boo

Day 2 of the new blog and we are already off to a running start!

There are a few things that you may not know about our family.  We love road trips and we love Star Wars. And lucky for you, I have a story about both!

First, Star Wars.

A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I were driving home when we came across a brand new comic book store.  As soon as he saw the neon Batman sign in the store window, he squealed and almost hit a fire hydrant pulling into the parking lot.  After we perused a while, we found a table that had different shaped ice cube trays. Currently in our freezer, we have an R2D2 ice cube tray and a Stormtrooper head ice cube tray.  So, when we saw the silicone mold shaped as Han Solo frozen in Carbonite, we could not resist.

When we got it home, we couldn't figure out what to make in it, after all, it's HUGE!  We made ice, big deal, after it froze, we ended letting it melt in the sink cause we had no use for it.

Then we made jello in it...meh...it was alright.  It didn't really hold the shape and we're not big jello eaters, so it sort of went to waste as well.

Then, inspiration struck and had a brilliant idea!!!!

A couple giant Hershey bars and some wafer cookies...Voila! A giant KitKat bar in the shape of frozen Han Solo!

Matt had a Superbowl luncheon at work and I sent this, it was a BIG hit!

Now, Road trips.

This Thanksgiving, we drove down to Florida to spend the holiday with my sister, Erin and her Family.   Being, the King of Roadside Attractions, Matt planned the whole trip.

We joked that we were going to find Honey Boo Boo's house and stopping by to Redneckonize with the whole Honey Boo Boo family.

Little did I know, Matt took it to heart.  He figured out where they lived by watching the show and Google mapping the area.

So, on our second day of our journey, we stopped at a gas station that just  happened to be 50 yards away from Honey Boo Boo's house.  While Matt pumped gas, Emerson and I hid behind the car and peered at the house. There was a pick-up truck out front with a lawn chair next to it.  There was someone sitting inside the pick up bed, but we couldn't see who it was.  All of a sudden, there she was...Mama June!!!!  We got in the car and drove by twice before we decided to pull up and talk to them.

It turns out that they were selling t-shirts out of the truck.  All proceeds went to Stand Up to Bullying and were locally made.  We had to buy one!!

One of the older daughters, Pumpkin, was the one in the truck bed and June (Mama) also gave each of the girls a picture autographed by the whole family.  June told us that Alana (Honey Boo Boo) was inside taking a nap because they were up early shooting the show.  We talked for a little while when all of a sudden the screen door slammed open and a little girl bellowed "MAMA!!!!"  Alana was up!  She came and sat down by her mother.  A few other people stopped and some of them were a little weird and started taking Alana's picture.  You could see June getting a little antsy and protective, so we left to give them some room.

I know that this family has been portrayed as trash, but I have to tell you, they were polite, personable, and incredibly sweet.

 

Almost 2 1/2 Years

It's been almost 2 1/2 years since I last posted on this blog!!!!  Time really does fly!

Well, I'm back.  And for good this time...I promise.

Now, I am not going to make this a really long post regaling you with tales of what we've been up to the last 2 years, but I do promise to write future post on the highlights.

There are a few things that were discovered over the time I was absent.  I LOVE to cook!!!  I LOVE Pinterest!!! I LOVE making things I find on Pinterest!!!

I am going to revamp this blog.  Not only will it have stories, but some recipes, and crafts.

But right now, I have some sorting out to do with this template and banner.  Stay Tuned!!!!

Is That Inspector Clouseau???

No, it's just me.

Every morning, I make Matt draw a mustache on the inside of my finger. I think it's hysterical and I'm immature like that.

I'm thinking I should just get a tattoo of my little mustache.

An Update on Matt

Matt is doing really well. After he spent 4 days in ICU and then another 3 days out of ICU but still in the hospital, they finally let him go home. Then it was my turn to take care of him. I felt like the time they just sent me home from the hospital with a newborn. What am I suppose to do now????

He was sent home with a Life Vest. It's actually a defibrillator vest that he has to wear all the time. If his heart suddenly stops, it will shock him. He has to wear it for 3 months, and if his heart functions don't improve, they will implant a defibrillator inside his chest. The funniest thing is the way this thing looks when he wears it. For the first week, if he had his shirt off, the girls and I would walk past him saying "Nice bra!"

The only diet restrictions he is on right now is his sugars. He as type 2 Diabetes and, from what I could tell, the meds that he was on before wasn't really controlling it. He now has to give himself insulin injections after each meal. It's not too bad changing our diets, I found a lot of great recipes online and I bought a cookbook named 1001 delicious recipes for Diabetics. I am also trying to cook fish at least once a week. This is huge because I HATE fish. But I am willing to try it for the sake of his health. We also take a walk as a family after dinner.

The biggest lifestyle change is that Matt and I have both quit smoking. I know that we should have done this a long time ago, but it took something this major to finally get it through our thick skulls! I am officially 2 weeks smoke free!!!! (Matt's a little longer because I finished off the carton that we bought before the heart attack.)

It's not as hard as I thought. We just have to remember if he smokes, he dies. If I smoke, he dies. Easy peasey lemon squeezey!!!

The worst part was that poor Matt had to spend his birthday in the hospital. But I tried to make the best of it for him. I brought him some party hats and his birthday present consisted of board games and card games. I sat in the hospital with him all day and played games with him. I also took a few pictures.

He just went for his "post heart attack" stress test, and the doctors were impressed with how well he's doing. There are 5 phases to the stress test, and he got through 3/4 of the 3rd phase. Most victims only get through 2 phases.

It's a long road, but we are all heading down it together and Matt is doing great.

Class of 1990!!

This Saturday, I am suppose to attend my 20 year class reunion. When I RSVP'd a month ago, I was excited! I mean I had a month to drop a few pounds, get a new outfit, and basically glam myself up, right?

WRONG!!!!!! Since I RSVP'd, I have not had a moment to myself! In fact, up until yesterday, I had forgotten about it completely.

Now here we are, less than 5 days away and I am stuck. My roots are out of control and I can't get into the salon. I don't have anything spectacular to wear, and needless to say, I haven't been to the gym in months.

What's a girl to do? I called my friend DeeDee and told her that I feel too fat and ugly to attend.

Her response was "GET OVER IT!!!"

She asked me if there were people going that I really wanted to see? I said yes and she said. "Do you really care what they look like now or if they gained some weight since high school?"

No! I couldn't care less if they gained weight. They were my friends and I would love to see them again!

So, I'm going to stop being so vain, go and have a good time.

This is what I looked like back in the day. (I'm the blond one) If I look any different than this, it can only be an improvement. LOL!

Thump...Thump...Is This Thing On?

Is there anyone out there????? Can you hear me????? Do you even care anymore????

Life has definitely thrown us some curves this last year. I am currently not employed but I definitely am working. Between my father, my family and now a great uncle, I am busier than a one-armed paper hanger!

First the good news, after a year and a half of driving him to and from work, Uncle Jim FINALLY got a car!!!!

Emerson started middle school and Vivienne started Kindergarten. They both seem to be enjoying it.

Matt got a new job with his company so he is now in the office. Which didn't come a moment too soon. Because on Sept. 4th Matt suffered a massive heart attack.

He's fine now and on the fast road to recovery (he wrote a post about it). But I can't tell you how scared I was.

I also have a great uncle whom I have been looking after. His name is Tom, he's 82 and lives alone, so we started doing odd jobs for him.

Last week, I went to the DMV to get his vehicle sticker. I called him to ask him a question and it turned out that he was stuck in bed with a twisted knee. I wasn't able to get into the house, so he had to try to open the window and throw me the keys. When I got in there, he couldn't get up to get anything to drink or eat. He couldn't get his meds that were in the kitchen or my phone number, He was trapped and I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't called him!

His "twisted knee" turned out to be an infection in his knee replacement. He is still in the hospital and called me almost hourly when I am not there with some problem.

Last night it was because he believed that his penis had disappeared. I went there this morning and assured him that it was still there without actually having to verify it. The meds that they have him on make him a little loopy.

Now that the kids are back in school, and Matt's back at work, I have a few minutes for myself. I am going to blogging again and I will be over to read all of you guys too.

Johnny Depp Monday!

I hope everyone had a nice Easter.

Another one from Ladystyxx. Thank you!

Johnny Depp Monday!

Thank you Ladystyxx!!!

Small, And A Little Humorous Glimps Into My Current Life.

I know, I've been a very bad blogger. For a while I just lost interest in doing it. It makes me wonder if I had been suffering from some sort of depression, they always say that it's a sign when you suddenly lose interest in things that you normally love to do. I don't know.

Anyway, I wanted to catch you guys up in what is going on around here.

Emerson and Vivienne are still doing very well in school. They both seem to love it, which makes life just a little easier.

Emerson, who is turning 11 on April 19th, (11 going on 30) is really looking forward to middle school because they don't have to wear uniforms. Her current school is the only public school in the district that requires uniforms. She has told us that she doesn't want anything big on her birthday, she wants to wait until July so she can have a big "back to school" shopping spree at Justice. The current style she would like to emulate is Selena Gomez/Alex from Wizards of Waverly Place. (which is really cute in a non-slutty sort of way)

She is so smart and witty, it just amazes me! We were watching the news when they announced that Tiger Woods was going to hold a press conference and make a public apology, and this is what she said.

"Tiger Woods owes me nothing. No apology, no explanation. He only needs to apologize to his wife, it's none of my business."

I just love that!!!

Matt came out of the bathroom after he shave his beard off and asked the girls if they noticed anything different.

Girls: "Um...No."

Matt: " Do you notice anything missing on me"

Emerson: "Your dignity?"

I honestly laughed for about an hour!!!

Vivienne's current obsession is still KISS. We gave her KISS action figures for Valentine's day and her favorite thing to wear is her KISS t-shirt. When I drive her to school, I have to play Detroit Rock City on the MP3 player because "It gets me going in the morning, Mommy."

She also still has her imaginary friend, Stacy, and Stacy still get herself into some unusual predicaments.

Matt's work has slowed down and he is now 7 days on, 7 days off. It makes things a little tight. But we are managing.

As for me, there are still times that I find myself looking around to see if there are cameras following me like "The Truman Show".

I now go to the gym 4 days a week. Mondays are with my trainer Peter. He is a former Marine (although I've always heard once a Marine, always a Marine) He is very sweet, even though he KICKS MY ASS any chance he gets!!!!

The first week, he gave me a strength test, just to see what I could do. I couldn't walk for 2 days after that.

The second week, one of the exercises that he made me do was to "bear crawl" across the basketball court. That is crawling on your feet and hands. For 4 days, it was hard for me to get out of the car.

The third week, he put a resistance band around my waist and made me pull him across the basketball court like a sled dog. Either he took it easy on me or I'm getting better because I wasn't nearly as sore as usual. I can't wait to see what's in store for me on Monday.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do the homework that Peter assigned for me. He has pain stakingly laid out a workout plan for me. 3 days working 2 different muscle groups a day. I also have to do 30 minutes of cardio on all 4 days that I go to the gym. He told me that I could for go one of the days if I took a class. I take flow yoga on Fridays.

So far, I have lost 11/2" off my bust, 3 1/2" off my waist, 1 3/4" off of my hips and 6lbs.

One of the reasons I joined this particular gym was because they have a pool, sauna, steam room and a whirlpool. And it's only $39 a month with no contracts. I do pay extra for Peter, but if I wouldn't be doing nearly as well if I didn't have his guidance.

The first week, I decided that I was going to try out the pool. Even though it's been a while, I am an excellent swimmer and figured it would be easy... I WAS WRONG!!! I could barely do a lap!!!! I would swim a little, mostly in side stroke, and then walk a lap. But each week, I am doing so much better. It has now gotten to the point where I don't have to walk at all, I just swim in both breast stroke and front crawl.

Last week, I found a race online. It's called The Warrior Dash. It's 3.17 miles with 12 insane obstacles. After you complete it, you get a warrior hat and a beer. You can check it out at www.warriordash.com it is all over the United States, so maybe one of you would be interested in running it too.

That should do it for now, I have some funny gym stories but that will give me something to write next week.

Johnny Depp Monday!!

Well, I've been busier than a one armed paper hanger!! But, now we're on spring break so I have some room to breathe. I have a few stories from the gym that I want to tell you this week. But for now....

Johnny Depp Monday!

What I wouldn't do for a stiff wind right now!

Review of Alice in Wonderland

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while. As I've mentioned before, I've joined a gym and I have a trainer named Pete. Pete is a Marine and happens to be kicking my ass! I've been so sore that I hardly have been able to move my arms without seeing stars!

But day by day it's getting better, (I think). The good news is, I'm not quite at the end of week two, and I've lost 6 lbs. So it must be working, right?

But anyways, Matt, Emerson and I went to go see Alice in Wonderland last Sunday! (Vivienne did not join us, as she freaked out at the TV commercials and actually said, "I don't want to see that!"). Many of you have been wondering how I liked it, so here is a short review.

Johnny Depp... YUMMY!

How was that?... Oh, you want MORE?... Okay then...

I'll give you a little taste of the beginning of the film, but you'll need to see the film to get the "Wonderland" side of it.

When it came to bringing the whimsical world of Lewis Carroll's classic to life, Tim Burton was the perfect man for the job!

Tim Burton has always been known for his outlandish style, but nothing prepares you for the magical world of Underland that he has made for us to see. (And no, "Underland" is NOT a misspelling. It's explained VERY well in the film.)

The story takes place 13 years after the original story of "Alice in Wonderland". Alice is now a 19 year old young lady, still morning the death of her father, who died a year prior to the story at hand. She is now faced with having to accept the proposal, of a very homely looking young Duke, whom she does not love, only because her family doesn't want her to become a spinster and a burden on her aging and widowed mother.

All during these scenes, Alice thinks she's seeing things, as a white rabbit dressed in a blue vest is barely seen several different times, running through bushes and across the yards.

Running away, because she "needs a moment alone to think", she spots the rabbit again, and as she chases after it she happens upon a large hole at the base of a tree. When she goes to look down it, the ground around the hole gives way and the adventure truly begins.

All of the old favorites are back, the Caterpillar, Tweetle Dee and Tweetle Dum, The White Rabbit, The March Hare, The Door Mouse, Cheshire Cat, The Queen of Hearts and the one, the only Mad Hatter.

A few new characters are introduced to us, such as the White Queen and a few other surprises.

As we get to "Underland", no one thinks that Alice actually is "The" Alice. And Alice thinks they have the WRONG Alice and is convinced it is all nothing but a dream she can't wake up from for some reason.

The special effects are absolutely out of this world and the acting of Johnny Depp are equally impressive! (And NOT because I'm totally in love with him).

Johnny Depp's take on the Mad Hatter is a man with a split personality. A high pitched lisping madman at one moment and a low voiced distinguished Scottish gentleman the next. Sometimes even mixing to two voices in the same sentence. Absolutely amazing is the range of his performance!

I have no idea how I can look at someone with yellow eyes, blue eyelashes big bushy orange hair and looks like he is suffering from mercury poisoning and still be totally in love!

The one main thing I noticed in this film is that everyone, (and I mean EVERYONE, including young Alice), has dark circles under their eyes! Is that the new look? Dark circles??? Because if THAT'S the case then you can consider me totally fashion forward! LOL!

One more thing that I will mention is that, we did NOT see this movie in 3D. I get way to motion sick at things like that and didn't want to take the chance at having to leave during a Johnny Depp scene to go throw up.

I give the movie 5 stars and two big thumbs up! If you want a totally enjoyable 2 hours out, I will definitely recommend this movie to you!

Johnny Depp Monday

Johnny Depp Monday!

I joined a gym and today is my first appointment with my new trainer, Pete. He's a Marine. I'm scared!! Pray for me and I will update you tomorrow.