It's February Already!

I can not believe today is the last day of January.  Where did this month go?  It feels like 2008 just started.  I think its true that the older you get the faster the years see to go by.  I think I need to plan some fun vacations for this year so that I at least enjoy the time as it flies.  Maybe another trip to Vegas.  I have only been there once but I had fun.  This time I won't go in July though - OMG could it be any hotter!  I really enjoyed the gambling, shopping, and eating.  I definately need to plan a trip - maybe get a group of friends together.

It's Super Bowl weekend!!  I like to watch it for the commercials!  I enjoy the game too but I'm neither a big Patriots or Giants fan so It doesn't matter to e who wins.  Now, I will probably root for the Giants just because they are the underdogs and it would be fun for an upset.  I just hope it's a good game and not a blow out early on.  No Super Bowl party planned so it will probably just be me and my dog!  Better for my diet though - no scrumptios tempting snacks to lure me off my diet!  And I can enjoy the commercials!  Did you know that the three items that sell more at Super Bowl time are - Pizza, Televisions, and Recliners.  I get the first 2 - not all that sure about the last one.  I know you want to be comfortable when you watch the TV but do that many people really want new chairs.  Things that make you go hmmmmm!

Here is my list of favorite blogs to read:

1. Kellie Raspberry 

http://kelliekiddlive.wordpress.com/

She is funny and I like to read about what's going on in her life.  If you don't know who she is go to kiddlive .com and listen to the kPod.  They are a morning radio show based in Texas that are very funny.

2.  Sammy from the Jackie and Bender show (KISS 106.1 in Seattle)

http://www.kiss1061.com/pages/290998.php

Sammy writes her Blog during the show so you get a bit of a behind the scenes.  They're a good morning show too.  

3.  PerezHilton.com

Where I go for all my gossip updates.

Enjoy!

De

Updates:

Still on the diet - I kinda splurged a bit too much over the weekend with pizza.  I'm gonna try harder this weekend.

No impulse buys this week and my credit card balance for this statement is half what it has been previously.

Organization - I did get some under counter organizing drawers for my bathroom last weekend.  They were Buy one get 1/2 off the 2nd.  Under my bathroom sink is so organized now!

101 Days until she turns 18!

Just Another Weekend

My weekend was pretty good.  I made a trip to Target. I tried very hard to stick to my list and I did pretty darn good!  I only impulse bought 1 item and it was a shirt on sale for $10.  Not too bad! Especially seeing as I hadn't been to Target in 2 weeks.  I thought I might go crazy but I didn't.  I think it helped that I was on a schedule because I was going to a movie so I couldn't just wander around aimlessly pulling things off the shelf.

I saw 27 Dresses.  I really liked the movie.  It was a great chick flick.  Both Katherine Heigl and James Marsden were great.  James Marsden hasn't been a leading male.  I liked him in this role.  There was also a great Elton John song in the movie.  When I got home I bought the song off iTunes!  I do that.  See a movie that has music in it that I haven't heard in awhile and I go and get it off iTunes.  It brings back memories!

After the movie I went to Linens and Things.  Bad idea! No list.  Time to wander around and pull things off the shelf.  I needed everything I got!  A new Toaster, Tea Kettle, and a picture for my bedroom. 

Sunday I watched the Marathon on Comedy Central.  OMG - they had some funny people on there.  The number one was Jeff Dunham.  If you have never seen him go to You Tube and watch  Spark of Insanity or Talking To Myself.   I got so caught up in the marathon that i didn't accomplish anything.  Have you ever done that.  Sat down and started watching something and before you know it the whole day is gone.

I need to start going out and doing stuff.  This Blog could get pretty boring if all I do is run errands.

De

Updates:

I lost 3 pounds!

Except for Linens and Things I stayed on budget!

The dishes that had been in the sink for 2+ weeks finally got done ~ threatening to have her phone turned off worked!

She's 18 in 102 days!

Random Thoughts

I am addicted to eBay!  It all started at Christmas time when I was looking for a Snow White DVD for my daughter.  I then searched for anything Grumpy because that is my favorite Disney character.  I found lots of t-shirts.  I thought - oh I'll place a small bid and just see if I win it.  Then when I got outbid I turned into a maniac!  I couldn't let someone beat me, that was my shirt!  I Must Win!!  It was such a rush!  It was like gambling!  I won so many things!  Lots of shirts!  I have now moved on from Disney clothing to DVDs.  I have now "won" Seasons 1 - 3 of Las Vegas.  I get the thrill of bidding and winning and it's cheaper than what they are going for on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  It's a win win!

Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real that when you woke up you just wanted to go back to sleep to be back where you were?  

I had a dream like that last night.  I had a boyfriend back in high school who passed away 5 months ago.  I had a dream about him last night and it was like his spirit was right there with me.  In my dream I cried because I hadn't seen him in so long and I was so sad that he was gone.  When I woke up I just wanted to go right back to sleep so I could continue to feel like he was here.  I don't know why I dreamed about him.  It was just so random.  Do you believe in ghosts and spirits.  I do and part of me thinks it may have been him.  I grew up with a boy who was my age and he died 10 years ago.  Our families did a lot together so he was just like a cousin.  I have dreams about him all the time.  It is his ghost/spirit in my dreams and we talk about how I miss him and he asks about his Mom.  I don't talk to many people about this because I don't want people to think I'm crazy!  I do believe in spirits though and think that all of us have the ability to see them in some way.  

Right now as I type this I am watching the Project Runway episode from last night ~ gotta love DVR!  They had to make outfits form 501 Jeans.  The designs were really good.  I like this reality show.  I started watching it when my niece was here visiting.  So I got caught up on this season by watching a marathon one weekend and am hooked.  I even "won" the Season 3 DVDs on eBay! 

De

Updates:

Weight Watchers still going well.  Not feeling hungry!

Staying on Budget this week.  Cutting down on the Starbucks runs has helped in both budget and diet!

I have not gone to a Target store in 2 weeks!!  I will be going there this weekend though to get stuff for my Soldier's care packages.  The test will be to just get what I go in for and not to impulse buy.

Todays Thoughts

My favorite Heath Ledger films are 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knights Tale.  I could just stare at his smile and dimples for ever.  He was so talented and beautiful.  It is such a loss.  Is it weird to be so effected by the death of a celebrity?  I have trouble wrapping my brain around how he can be gone.  It just makes me sad :(

In other news - the dishes my daughter was supposed to do over the weekend are still sitting in the sink.  She says she has been sick this week and she will get them done.  Anyone want to place a bet on when that will be?!?  I have to keep resisting the urge to just do it myself.  I am starting to run out of bowls!!

I have started on Weight Watchers again.  It worked real well for me 8 years ago and I hope it works again.  Another gal at work is starting on it too so we are going to help each other out. I think it is easier if you have someone to help you stay focused.  I have been on this for only 3 days but so far so good!  The food part has been pretty easy - the tough part for me is getting all the water in - not a big water drinker.  Small steps though - can't go from drinking nothing to drinking 6 glasses a day all at once!  I might float away.

I have 2 more points of food to eat so I am going to go calculate what I can have for dessert!

De

108 Days til she's 18!

Living with a 17 year old!

I didn't know what I was going to blog about today and then I got a call from my daughter and the topic just came to me!   

I am trying hard to give her life's lessons and not jump in and rescue her when she makes mistakes.  This one has to do with money.  She currently has a full-time job and she gets paid once a month on the 5th.  That means she got her pay check 2 weeks ago. She is making pretty good money for a 17 year old who just graduated high school.    

Some background information - after she graduated high school and before she got her job i would loan her some money and keep it on a running tab with the understanding that she would pay me back when she got a job.  Her first pay check came at the beginning of December and I told her she could wait until her January check to pay me back as it was Christmas time and her first check.   

Now we come to today - I asked to be paid back the $125 she owes me when she got her check on 1/5/08 and she said she would pay me.  Every time I brought it up she would say she has the money and I will get paid.  Yesterday I asked her to just write me a check and she told me she couldn't because she didn't have any money left over from getting paid 2 weeks ago.  Later in the evening she wanted to go to a show with her friends and realized she had no money - I didn't lecture I just said consider it a learning experience on how she needs to budget her money so she can do things through out the whole month.

Now the phone call - she just called form her friends house and said they were all heading to Red Robin and seeing as she didn't have any cash could I just loan her $5.  I said no - she asked why - I said because she still owed me $125 - she said she is paying me back on the next check because I am making her - I said I wouldn't give her the money and she proceeded to says f*** y** and hang up on me.

Somehow her being poor and not having any money leftover has become my fault!  Interesting!  

She wants to be on her own - not have me be involved in things - but when she needs something she thinks I should just hand it over.

Not gonna happen!  Oh - did I mention that as she spent the whole weekend with her friends so  she never got around to cleaning up her dishes and clothes which means either I do them or live in a house with dirty dishes for another week.

Any suggestions on how to get the chores done are appreciated!!

Countdown - 111 days until she turns 18!

Have a good week ~ De 

Book Recommendation

I just read Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock.  This was such a good book.  It grabbed me from the very first page and I didn't want to put it down.  I ride the bus to work everyday and enjoy reading then.  Today I felt like the bus got me to my stop too fast because I wanted to be able to keep on reading!  When I got off the bus tonight I stayed in my car at the park and ride and read!  I finished.  I won't go in to any details regarding how this book ends - let me just say that I was extremely surprised by the twist and I had no clue at all.  I have not had a book pull me in like that in a long time.  I wanted to finish it so bad but now I am sad that it is over.

I would like to thank my sister Colleen and my niece Lindsay for recommending this book.

On to finding another book!

De

Soldiers Angels

Last summer I heard about an organization called Soldiers Angels. People become an angel and adopt a soldier who is stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan and you write them letters once a week and send them a monthly care package. I joined and have been writing a soldier. I just received an email from the organization saying that they have more soldiers needing angels than they have people signing up to be an angel. I feel this is a way I can help out and support our soldiers. Please go to this website: http://soldiersangels.org and click adopt a soldier. My heart just breaks thinking about a soldier stationed far away from family who does not get any mail. They need to know someone is thinking about them. I just write about everyday happenings. They like to hear about your family, hometown, friends, and what you have been up to.

Please Adopt A Soldier!

De

Snow Day

So I didn't find anything too weird in the pantry yesterday!  Just around 6 boxes of half empty cereal.  Why is it that cereal boxes seem to multiply?  It's one of those items that when I get to the grocery store I can't seem to remember what I already have at home!  New resolution - no buying cereal until all current boxes are empty :)   

Tonight it is a winter wonderland!  I like it when it snows a little and just covers the trees and grass.  It helps me remember why I like to live in Washington.  I like the fact that we have actual seasons.   My dog Muppet wasn't too thrilled about the snow though.  She is so funny!  I took her outside which is usually filled with sniffing and running around.  Not tonight.  She ran out to the lawn, did what she needed to do, and was back inside before me. I'm not even sure her feet touched the snow.  

De

A New Year

I made a resolution to try new things this year and not let fear get in the way.  I have been an avid blog reader and have always thought about doing one myself.  Fear of being judges or people not wanting to read anything I had to say stopped me.  So, it is now time to conquer that fear and just do what I want!  This posting is about some of the resolutions I have made this year besides starting a blog.  I like to start out the New Year with a clean slate; this generally means cleaning and organizing the house!  I started with the kitchen this weekend; cleaning out the refrigerator and the pantry.  Have you ever noticed that there are things in your refrigerator that you don't even remember buying let alone trying to remember why you bought it!  I got rid of so many half used old items yesterday it was sad.  Of course, I then needed to go to the grocery store because all I had left in the refrigerator was condiments, pop, and butter.  Today it is time to work on the pantry.  I'll let you know what I find!  Another resolution is to put myself on a budget and stick to it.  Sundays are hard for me to do this because I love to look at the ads that come in the Sunday paper especially the Target Ad.  I can always find things in there that I think I absolutely must have right now.  Especially with a resolution to to stay organized because they always have cool containers and gadgets on sale at the beginning of the New Year for people just like me!  I looked through the ad today but so far so good I have not left the house to go shopping.  It is tough too because they have clear storage boxes on sale.  I could really use those to try and organize my child's room!  I have a teenager living in this house which is definitely an obstacle to having a clean organized house.  Any suggestions you might have for getting a 17 year old to keep their room clean and to clean up after themselves in the kitchen would be greatly appreciated!     

Time to start on that pantry!  I'll let you know if I find anything interesting.