This 'n' that....

Well, we survived the shopping trip to the mall. What a day. I had a pounding headache by the time we left. Betsy started by taking 5 shirts into the dressing room, and coming out with one she liked. This child drives me batty. As I sat there amongst the flat-tummied teens, belly shirts and short skirts, I couldn't help but imagine what I would buy if I could fit into this stuff. Maybe that is why I'm not thin....I would cause our family to declare bankruptcy. Betsy has that perfect figure. Perky up top, tiny waist, no butt and slim legs. Yet her dressing style is a cross between sporty and Daria. Everything is either black or red....so you can only imagine her horror when we walked into the second store that boasted the color PINK everywhere. I told her, "Honey, pink is the new black." She didn't crack a smile.

Things did pick up though, and she got 7 tops of various colors, a pair of converse sneakers (I find it hard to call them sneakers at $35.99), and a new hoodie although black, it has pink letters on it. (I guess that will have to satisfy me!) She did a really good job with bargains, the hoodie being the only thing she paid full price for. She did the 50% off racks for everything else, and even found the shoes on sale. After all is said and done, she's got $95 left for unmentionables and a book bag.

Wee one on the other hand....*sigh. It wasn't 5 minutes into the store when she started with, "Are you telling me we are shopping for Betsy today? I can't go to my stores? If I had known this I would have gone to grammy's. This is boring!" I think this was about the time my head started aching. Then she started with, "My back hurts from standing....rub it!" Well, she is getting up there in age....9 1/2 now. Arthritis was bound to set in sooner or later. After about 2 hours of this, I was ready to scream. We were in the last store purchasing the hoodie when she started in her sing-song voice, "You're wasting your money...." Apparently Ms. Frugal doesn't think anyone should pay full price. We ended up getting the tired/thirsty one a Coke, and headed off for home.

Friday is Wee one's day for shopping, since it's payday. We will also go get all the school supplies. I'm looking forward to that. I could shop for school supplies every day! I love sniffing the crayons and feeling the smooth, coolness of a new Pink Pearl eraser....

Today I have managed to clean a little, wash a little and give the dog a bath. He smells so clean now, and is fluffy and curly. Whenever I wash him he gets curls. It's cute. Washing  him is a big job, usually reserved for dh, however it fell on my shoulders today. He has a vet appointment tomorrow (Percy, not John), which means my bank account will be as dry as the Sahara. Ahhh, the joys of pet ownership....

I am making blt salad for dinner tonight. It just sounds light and refreshing to me. I hope dh feels the same way....although I'm sure he will complain about the lack of meat. He's such a meat eater. He definately would have been a Tyrannosaurus Rex had he been a dinosaur.

I don't know....

Good Monday morning! It's 9:00 am, and a sticky 83 degrees outside. A great day for staying inside and cleaning....

Actually, I will probably clean then take Betsy to the mall. We are having the "no sales tax" week here in Florida, so she should be able to get more for her money, since our sales tax is sky-freaking-high. 7% - wth? Of course we don't have state tax, but obviously we are paying for it. It should be a fun day, *enter sarcasm here, as Betsy is such a wonderful shopper. She tries on 100 things, and walks out with ONE that she likes. Wee-one is going to go crazy waiting for her. I wish she could go to mom's for a while, but I hate putting any extra pressure on her right now. So, wee one will just have to suck it up and be a good girl....

Wee one told me yesterday she wanted to go bowling with me. I said that it would be fun for us girls to go out before school starts and she said, "Oh no....not Betsy. Just you and me. It will be a mom-me day. Maybe we could do that once a year. No! Once a month! That way we could go out 12 times without Betsy." Hmmmm, I think she may be mad at her sister....lol. Actually she has been rather clingy lately. She's been sleeping on the couch in my room, sitting next to me (or rather on top of me) when we are on the couch, and always making sure I'm in the house (like I'd risk droopy hair by stepping outside!). I think it might be that school is starting in two weeks, and she might be a bit nervous. Fourth grade is going to be a challenge for her, with the horrid year she had in third grade. Here's hoping she gets a teacher that actually knows how to teach! You can bet your butt if she gets anything less than perfection this year, I'll be in the office complaining!

Not much happened over the weekend. It rained on Saturday, so we spent the day lounging about....and Sunday we went to church, then out to see the college dh will be attending....then the grocery store. That's it. Not much excitement around here. I still haven't found out why the neighbor next door is moving....but I'm sure I will hear something soon. Actually, I think we should put up a sign too. I want to move away from here! But the question then becomes, where do you go? Heck, I don't know.

Okay, well, enough of this extremely boring entry. I need to get going on housework, then shopping....oh what an exciting life I lead....

We have a winner....

I have to brag a bit, as Wee-One ended up winning the "Best J-Brat on the Block Award" for her My Frog Journal! Thank you so much, everyone who voted for her. She is so excited. And I'm a pretty proud mom as well!

Let's see....what have I done today. Well, I suppose that would have to be a big NOTHING. I mean it. Nothing. Zilch. Zero. I got up and tried to fix my printer, which has taken a crap. Then, I find out that my computer which has been acting up, has eaten all of my photos taken in the last three months. I can only imagine what else is gone. I hate to look. I then made brunch, and once again sat my butt in front of this computer. I've been checking out the Gateway deals....some of which are quite good. I believe we will be going with one of them. Betsy is in St. Augustine with friends, enjoying the remaining weekends before school starts. John is outside working on the boat, getting it all purtyful to sell....speaking of selling....

This morning not only did the "nose picker" neighbor put his house up for sale, our next door neighbor did as well. Very strange....not so strange for the "np" to move, but our neighbor has lived here for over 15 years. I wonder what the scoop is?

So, that has been my Saturday so far. BTW, is anyone else having trouble with extremely large print in journals? It's like I woke up with AOL Large Print Edition....

TGIF....

Tonight my darling dh brought home "what-a-burger's" and they were mighty tasty! I really should go out and walk them off....but I'm sleepy now from eating.

Today I had the bug guy here. We have had a problem with carpenter ants, and thought we had taken care of them....unfortunately the little buggers prooved us wrong, and showed thier ugly little faces again. Dh and I had to go to my mother's house, and when we came home, we had an infestation of flying ants in our dining room. Apparently the rain causes them to search for higher and dryer ground, which constituted our window. They are attracted to light, so they were by the computer and the stove light. Now, being from the north, I never realized what a problem these insects are....up there, having ants meant you were not too concerned about the cleanliness of your house....however here, you could clean all day every day (eg me) and still have them. When we got home, I could hear a screeching from inside the house and thought, oh man, the girls must be scared to death! However, upon entering I realized it was laughter....as wee one was catching them, and dropping them into my burning Yankee candle. Horrified I asked her what she was doing and she replied, "I'm cremating them!" Betsy was caught between laughing and gagging. (I can't help but wonder what my spiced apple candle is going to smell like, next time I light it....little ant bodies suspended in wax....)

But I digress....the guy came today and put bait in the bathrooms, under the sinks, in the kitchen, behind toilets and shower heads, and then sprayed and spread granuals around the house. Hopefully this will do the trick. I hate to think of the little monsters crawling around inside my attic or walls. Ewwwww. One more thing to despise about living here.

I have to say I am so proud of Betsy. Yesterday morning she left for my mom's house, and spent the night. Since my sister was working and my mom had to go to thedoctor with my grandmother, Betsy stayed over and spent the day caring for my dad. She said he did really well, and she enjoyed spending time with him. She can be a "typical" teenager sometimes, but when it comes down to it, she is a wonderful, loving girl. Last night as we were walking to pick up wee one from her friends house, we were talking and she said, "I had such a nice time with Gram, I didn't realize how much I missed being with her." I can't tell you how wonderful that made me feel. I have truly been blessed with two of the most loving and special kids in the world....in my opinion!

Well, it seems everyone wants dessert and I am apparently the only one who knows how to work the ice cream scoop....*sigh. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Walking in sunshine....

This morning I had to get up early, 7:45, to await the arrival of the "boat trader" picture lady. She was to be here between 8:00 and 10:00, so I figured I'd get my walking clothes on, and do my 2 miles after she got here. Turns out she was running late and didn't get here till after 10:00. I decided to go for the walk anyway and take wee one and her bike with me. We started out, and I knew I should have turned around about half way down the block, as the sun was blazing by now. But, I figured since I was already doing it I might as well finish. A few blocks down the way I was beginning to feel the beginnings of blisters on my ankles. Yet, I pressed on. Wee one by this time had begun complaining of the heat, and saying how hot it was having to wear a helmet.

We got to the one mile mark and she had begun riding ahead of me, only to stop, turn and yell, "Is that all you got?" I smiled and kept walking, as I didn't want to waste energy talking. Around the 50th time she did this I yell, "Yes, this IS all I got!" She just laughed and rode on. As I was walking I was praying that someone would decide to turn on their sprinkler system and water, so that I could run through it. There was one house that had thiers turned on, but it was at the end of the cycle and the water was right up by the house. It didn't look like anyone was home, and I really did consider running up to cool myself off....but decided against it. With my luck the window next to the sprinkler would have been a bathroom, and I would have gotten an eyefull of Mr. Geriatric stepping out of his morning shower....ewwwww.

By the time we made the circle and were back on our block, my fingers were so swollen from the heat that I could hardly bend them. It looked as though I had bratwurst attached to my palms. Wee one had had enough at this point and took off toward home. 5 long minutes later (I was getting pretty slow by then), I was home. I walked to the closet, grabbed a towel, took off my shorts, went in the back, climbed the stairs to the pool and jumped in....ahhhhh, sweet chlorinated bliss. Wee one eventually joined me, thrilled with the fact that I let her jump in with her clothes on as well. We spent a glorious half hour in the pool, making a whirlpool, talking about all sorts of things.

I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said she would like to be "someone who takes parts out of people". I said like a surgeon? And she said yes and asked how much school she would have to go to. When I gave her the lowdown, she decided against it and chose dentistry....again I told her about the schooling involved, and she decided on becoming a vet....more school....then she said, and I love this, "Well, how about being a homeperson like you?" I just laughed and said that I didn't go to college, but that now if I wanted to go to work, I wouldn't have any schooling and it would be hard for me. She rolled her eyes and said, "Mom, can we just let me be a kid for now?"

Walking with blisters until they are raw....blood
Walking in 100 degree heat for 2 miles....sweat
Spending 30 minutes talking with my wee one....priceless

 

 

It's Wednesday....isn't it?

I just went outside to put some shock in the pool, and found a wee turtle. He is so cute. He was just sitting there, amon the rocks. I'm glad I didn't step on him....or he would have become a frisbee! I took him over to the hose and watered him down a bit, and put him in the shade. He was rather dry. I went inside and got wee-one (as I didn't think he would particularly thrill Betsy), and she looked at him for a bit. She picked him up once, then put him down and ran back into the house. I was worried for a minute that she would want to keep him....but thankfully we had just returned from the store, where she purchased a Polly Pocket, complete with limousine and accessories. She was having a hard time deciding between the limo and the pool Polly....she kept picking one up then setting the other down, and vice versa. However, she decided on the limo. She also paid with her own money. She had $46 with her, so really she could have gotten both. I suggested that to her, and she though about it before saying, "Hey, I'll tell you what. I'll buy one and YOU buy the other." I don't think so kid, but nice try.

We stopped at Books-a-Million as well, because Betsy needed the next book in her series. She reads Fearless, and only has 4 books to go. She also bought a hard-cover $15 book called "ttyl" (talk to you later in teen im talk). The entire book is written in instant messages, and the book is also printed like an instant message, each page containing several messages from different characters. I'm like, I pay HOW much each month for you to instant message, and you go and buy a book on it? I swear, I will never understand these kids. (Dang whippersnappers!)

Tonight will be a boring dinner of kielbasa and kraut. I made a new recipe last night, complete with photos, but my ygp isn't working at the moment. I really need a new computer. This one has done a great job, but it's on it's last leg I believe. I'm rebooting 10 times a day for pete's sake!

Oh, I also bought an ironing board pad and cover today. How exciting is that? I had to choose between butterflies and plain pink. I went with the butterflies. Oh, and I also bought conditioner for wee one's hair. She has such long, thick hair that I have to get pantene. It's the only thing that will work. However, today I decided to try the generic equivalant. Of course, I had to open it and smell it, because I buy by scent. If you are a user of the pantene conditioner, you will know that the bottles are made to stand up with the opening on the bottom, so you don't have to shake the last remaining bits out. Well, I picked up the bottle, opened it, gave it a little squeeze to sniff....and found myself with a face full of conditioner. I calmly wiped it off my cheek and ever-so-nonchalantly out of my nostrils, all while Betsy is looking at me like, "Could you BE any more embarassing?"

So, now I am home, ironing board ready to go, nostril hair soft and manageable....yet here I sit. *Sigh. I better get a move on!

I had a dream.....oh man did I ever!

Have you ever had one of "those" dreams, where you wake up and you're like, "Dang....where did that come from?" (The following will be a short synopsis of my romantic, touchy-feely dream, so any men reading might want to turn away now....)

Maybe my stress level has been so high that subconsiously my brain decided I needed a little break....to which I say, yeah baby. What I remember is that I was with a doctor who was napping in a room between patients. I didn't know him well, but we seemed to have a good rapport. We were talking/flirting....then somehow kissing. I remember thinking that I didn't want to kiss him....but he convinced me otherwise. It got rather hot from there....until someone walked in. I remember the doc had an accent, and he wasn't astonishingly good looking, but there was some kind of "soul" connection between us. Okay guys....analyze that one! LOL.

I have so many things on my to do list today. I need to finish some sewing, call the bug guy, do my ironing (hubby "mentioned" he was out of shirts...."I'm getting low on shirts here!" yelled from inside the closet), and I've begun steam cleaning carpets, couches, whatever looks like it needs refreshing. Oh, and the dog is in need of a vet visit and I'm sure some medicine. Does the fun never end around here???? 

Only 2 weeks until registration for Betsy at high school....and we are still waiting on Wee one's postcard which announces which teacher she will have this year. Every day she runs to the mail box, only to come in and throw the mail on the counter in disgust. "WHEN are they going to send it?" she will ask. Oh, to be young again, when the highlight of your summer is finding out who your teacher will be. I remember back in elementary school, we would have to go to the school to find out who our teachers were. They would have a "wall of classes" and you would find your grade then check all the rosters. I'll never forget when I got the "mean" 2nd grade teacher. I was horrified! She was infamous for her phrase, "Park it and cork it!" (a bit more pc than sit down and shut up....lol). Ahhh, memories.

Well, it's 6:30 and I suppose I should be getting a move on. Or, perhaps I'll go back to bed and hope my doctor friend is waiting.....mmmmmhmmmmm.....that's the stuff.....