Simple Pleasures: Making Aaron cookies with my new hand mixer

I finally retired my old mixer. It only worked on one speed and then only if I held it securely in place. It always smelt like it was burning up, but it never did...not all the way at least.
In this picture it looks in mint condition, but it wasn't...Here is the old one:

One of Aaron's Christmas gifts was that I would make him home made chocolate cookies at least once a month, since he loves them so much. A few weeks ago I told Aaron that this was the last batch I would make with the old mixer. He told me I should go and buy a new one ASAP. :)...I have to admit while I was in Target I did stand for a good 5 minutes dreaming about buying the Kitchen Maid Stand Mixer (on sale for $199.99)...Reality of course set in and I bought the Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer ($24.99-more in my price range). I got it and it sat on the counter for over a week in the box...until Monday, when I came home to find 2 sticks of butter on the counter to soften. I got the hint and made cookies...And my new hand mixer worked like a charm! It made me realize just how pitiful my old one was. The beaters are bigger and it took half the time to mix! It even has a whisk and a stand that you can store the cord and all the attachments in. I love my new mixer...even if it isn't a fancy Kitchen Aid. Plus, Aaron said they were the best cookies he ever had. :) (He says that ever time, but this time I believed him.)


What is one of your simple pleasures? Check out other peoples at Chocolate on my Cranium.

R.I..P.

Today I lost a dear friend...Not a person, but my one and only black bag. It is (was) in the top 3 of my all time favorite bags...Do you remember when I posted about one of my simple pleasures being my bags? I showed you this one:

Well, it is now history. Let me explain what happened. Sadie happened. Sadie was taking a nap on my bag the other day. I thought is was so sweet and cute I took this picture of her:

I woke her up when I took it, poor thing. Little did I know she wasn't only snoozing...she was also taking the opportunity to eat my bag. Aaron said it is because she likes leather. I reminded him I bought it at Target and it isn't really leather...Take a look at the damage those sharp little puppy teeth did:


A close up on the damage:

Seriously Sadie? I wanted to beat her!!! But I don't beat dogs...or people for that matter, so I just grabbed my camera. I figure in a few years I can look back at these pictures and laugh!...Maybe. I will miss that bag. It served me well for MANY years. It was a timeless bag I would have kept for years to come...*SIGH*. I can't complain because I did leave it on the floor-anything on the floor is fair game for a puppy. Sadie has done a great job of only chewing on her toys up until this point...But, I don't even have a black bag now...yet. :) Aaron, I am on a mission to find a new (cheap, don't worry ) big mom bag. We will call it my Mother's Day gift okay? It could take a while to find the perfect bag any way. It may be Mother's Day before I find it!

Check me out on Mormon Mommy Blogs!

One of my photos (not sure which one...I sent in 3 or 4) is going to be the photo of the week tomorrow on Mormon Mommy Blogs!!! I am so excited! I can't wait to see which picture it is! You can click here to get there...or click on the button on the side of my blog that says "Live. Laugh. Blog. MMB". Hope to see you there!!!

Same boy. Different dog.

It is official: 2 out of 2 Black Labs (I use the term loosely...I think Sadie may have something else in her too...) love bubbles. Our first black lab, Emily LOVED bubbles. We found out yesterday that Sadie does too. Sadie however was a little harder to photograph enjoying bubbles than Emily was. In Aaron's words: "That is the most jumpingest (is that a word? No...but that is what he said...or something close to that any way and no Aaron isn't my child he is my husband. We make up words whenever there is a need in our house.) dog!" Jake had a great time blowing bubbles for her and Sadie had a great time eating them. I took a walk down memory lane today when I pulled up these pictures: (humor me people this is a lot of pic's...)

Jake and Emily blowing bubbles:





Jake (picture me sniffing and maybe even a tear...Look at how big my baby has gotten!) and Sadie blowing bubbles:






I am glad we waited almost a year to get another dog because it gave me time to get out of my mind I needed another dog just like Emily. She was...amazing. So, amazing I wrote a post about her here. (If you don't have time to read it you at least have to look at the pictures-she was a beautiful dog.) Sadie is Sadie. :) She is a crazy and loving little puppy. She is ADORABLE. She may end up being a little more Marley (I never saw the movie...yet-I still plan on it...but we read the youth version of the book and LOVED it.), than Emily but that is okay. Emily (don't tell Jake this) was my dog. We had a connection-like human and dog soul mates. Jake has that connection with Sadie and it is SO fun to watch. My friend from work, Sharlene, came over last week and dropped off a file cabinet her family was getting rid of (it will come in handy for home schooling and it was free!) and she brought her teenage son to help with the heavy lifting. While they were at our house they watched Jake and Sadie playing crazily in the front yard. Sharlene told me the next day at work that her son said Jake and Sadie feed off each other. It is so true. Jake laughs hysterically while they are chasing each other and I am sure Sadie is on the inside too. :) I almost forgot! Sadie is 13 weeks today-about the same age Emily was when we got her. They are so different, but they both won our hearts. I love dogs. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he made man's best friend. :)

Things I have learned this week...

*Never start a puzzle with your son, the same week that a long anticipated Wii game finally comes out. You will be doing it by yourself.

*1,000 piece puzzles are hard. It isn't done yet. Mostly because I have really only had 3 times to sit down and work on it...I will finish it, but I am slightly worried that one or two pieces may have been eaten by Sadie.

*If we don't wake her up, Sadie will sleep in. This makes me very happy. I enjoy (a lot) sleeping in on Saturday. I don't really get too because Jake always wakes me up to say good morning at around 6:30. I don't tell him not to, because in a couple of years he will be sleeping in and never want to give me my morning hug and kiss. He then asks if I want to sleep on the couch, while he watches cartoons or plays the Wii. I always do and then right as I fall asleep again he has to show me something funny on his favorite show or the new space cruiser vehicle thing he just purchased (on the Wii game). This goes on for a while until I just give up and join him. This morning however I slept though his comments (I did a lot of the puzzle last night...and stayed up late. For me at least. Is 12:30 late for anyone else or am I just a wimp?), but kept thinking I heard Sadie whining to get out of her crate. Jake would check and she would be fast asleep. Lucky girl!!! So, now I know if I can sleep through Jake talking to me, I can sleep in peacefully because the puppy likes to too. That's my girl. :)

*If you are focusing on a puzzle it is very easy to forget about the laundry and dishes...and the Spring cleaning I had planned for the day.

*Rainy days are perfect days for puzzles.

*I get excited when I find a piece that fits...I think I may have chosen one of the hardest puzzles ever, for an amateur at least. It has a lot of water and sky...Dumb I know but it was cute and it was only $4.04 at Target. The easier looking ones were more money...

*Aaron asked me if puzzles are going to be my new thing...I am still deciding. But I have learned that I really like painting my nails a different shade every couple of days (that is as long as it usually lasts.)

*I learned that even if I had the money I wouldn't spend it on manicures. It would be a waste of money because I wouldn't want to keep the same color on. Pedicures...I would pay for though-at least the part when they massage your feet. :)

*Soaking dry, cracked feet in warm water and lemon juice is a miracle worker. (Papa Harmon told me this trick and it is a WINNER! You may want to go buy stock in lemon juice because I will be buying a ton of it from now on!) Seriously! I have no photographic proof of the miracle that took place on my feet because I don't want to scare your children if they walk by your computer while you looked at the horror that my heels were before. After taking my feet out of the soak (about 15 minutes) I thought I would have to scrub off the dead skin. I didn't have to. It literally feel off my feet with just a little rubbing and itching. Is this TMI? Sorry, but if this helps just one person with cracked dry heels like mine than it is worth it. :) If you have this problem try the lemon juice soak. It will blow your mind!!!!

*I stink at painting my toe nails and Aaron thinks it is hilarious. He won't even paint my toe nails for me because he would rather laugh at how pitifully they turn out when I do them. At least I can make him laugh! :)

For anyone interested in trying the Lemon juice soak I used one of those plastic lemon shaped bottles filled with lemon juice-the whole thing! I don't know if I needed to use that much but I wanted to make sure it worked...and it is still way cheaper than a pedicure! I used about a gallon of warm water and soaked for 15 minutes. Hope it works for you too! :)

Day 3 and 4: An air cast, and a Dr.'s note to his professors

I didn't get a chance to post day 3 pic's of Aaron's ankle...I didn't even ask him if I could take one today. He is a P.T.P.P (I guess there is no need to do that if I am still going to tell anyone who doesn't know, that that stands for picture taking party pooper....) so I was glad he let me take as many as he did!

Day 3: Sadie was very interested in what I was doing and evidently thought there might be some food on the bottom of Aaron's foot while I was taking this picture...
The doctor was convinced it was broken, even though Aaron told her he didn't think it was. Aaron was right, no broken bones. Just a VERY sprained ankle. He got an air cast and a note to his professors to tell them why he missed classes today. He did decide to stay home from work one more night and he is wondering after 4 nights off in a row how he is ever going to get back in the 3rd shift routine! It is less swollen today thanks to the prescription for swelling from the doc. I think he enjoyed his days off (besides the pain) because he has gotten to play an awful lot of Lego Star Wars III. :) Did I mention the cute pillow Aaron's foot is laying on is newish? I got two of them after Valentine's day, at Target, for $5!...I feel the need to buy a canvas and paint a picture to match for the wall. Another project to add to the list...but that one wouldn't take long-those are my favorite kind! Did you know I like to paint? I haven't done it for a while...Gotta go. American Idol is one and Aaron is home to night to watch it. That kind of counts as a date night right?

Wordful Wednesday: Myths about Women

This will be short and sweet today...and actually fits in perfectly with the myth I want to talk about. The world believes that women can have both a career and a family. I am here to tell you that if you have both, something will be lacking. I only work part time and there is a lot lacking in the house work department. I know it will be there tomorrow. But, you do have to wash the dishes when there are no more forks. And you do have to do the laundry when there is no more clean underwear. There are also things lacking in the family department. Date night, movie night, game night, making it to all the basketball games & field trips, when Jake is sick and I go to work because Daddy is home (but sleeping because he worked 3rd shift.), time to play, dinners that aren't out of a box, traditions crashing and burning...You get the picture. No these things aren't going to scar my family and we are blessed...but it is hard and I feel guilty EVERY day for something I could do better or more if I wasn't always busy trying to juggle it all. Yes, it is a reality in the world today that women have to work outside the home. I know my time working outside the home is temporary and I am happy that I have been able to be home for so long. I am so lucky that I was able to get a job that works so well with my schedule. I am extremely blessed for that reason. But as I talk to people at work and watch the news, it is evident that families are suffering in this country and I believe that mom's having to work is a big part of that. I hope I am not offending anyone. We all do what we have to do, but it is true. Families suffer when mom's have to work. Don't hate me for keeping it really people...If I weren't tired I would think of a better way to put all this, but you get it right? Now I have to go and open up a can of hot dog chill and pears for our awesome dinner, since my guys just finished their level on Lego Star Wars III.... (I had to work a longer shift than usual so that is the best I can do...)

Check out other ladies feeling on this very topic over at Chocolate on my Cranium.

Stats...

I am a computer illiterate for the most part. I just stumbled upon the whole "stats" thing on my blog a few weeks ago (I have been blogging for 2 years and just noticed it....) ,that tells me how many people look at my blog and where they are from. I knew about the people in the US (obviously) and Canada...But the people in Russia, Brazil, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Italy; that have looked at my blog really surprised me! Thanks for stopping by! I wish I could check out your blogs too, but if they aren't in English, all I could do is look at your pictures. :) If you don't mind...if you are one of those people from another country...can I ask you a question?..or maybe a few...? How did you find my little, tiny, blog? Are you mom's too? Members of the LDS church too?..or just people wondering what we crazy American mom's are up to lately?...Are you out there? :) I can't wait to see if you are! I guess more people than I thought stumble upon my randomness on occasion... I guess I shouldn't be surprised that people blog stalk my little blog sometimes-I do it all the time! :)

Where are people from that have look at your blogs, my blog friends that I actually knew where reading? :)

Aaron gets a night off, Project #1 for the week, and Sadie is 12 weeks old...

...Yes, I am behind on my posts, so here is the past few days of our lives in a nutshell:

*Aaron doesn't have to go to work tonight! (If you don't already know this: he works full time 3rd shift and has Monday and Wednesday nights off). He has 3 nights off in a row!...And there may be more (he doesn't think so, but we will see), due to this injury:

Day 1 (last night):



He has rolled his ankle several times and when he does it he does it good...He is very athletic. It isn't because he is uncoordinated or anything. Harmon's are just...occasionally accident prone...I know it REALLY hurts because he asked me to call and make a doctor's appointment for him to go to tomorrow. He had to hobble around on crutches (that were made for at the tallest a person who is 5'10''...He is 6'2'') all day at school today. He had an exam and when you are taking classes like Calculus 4 you really can't miss a class. The doctor's office (the one Jake and I go to already) asked who his current doctor is..?..Oh that's right they don't know Aaron yet! They don't know that the last time he went to the doctor was to see Jake's ultrasound...Oh wait that really wasn't an appointment for him. It was actually several years before Jake was born, when he tore his knee to pieces and had to have major surgery. Aaron says he had to go a few years ago, but I really don't remember it. But any way! The doctor's office wants to get his "medical records"...I didn't even say anything. I will let him explain it to them when he goes tomorrow. :)

Day 2:



*Jake and I have started a new project. We are putting together a 1000 piece puzzle. A friend mentioned on her blog a while ago that they did a puzzle and then I read in a book about how good it is for your brain to do puzzles. I need all the brain power I can get so I was inspired!

I do however fear that this project has been slightly derailed...Jake has been saving up for the new Lego Wii Star Wars III game. He saved $20 (it was supposed to be $25 but Aaron took my advice and knocked off $5 since he didn't take Jake snowboarding this year.) and Aaron was going to pay the other half (because he wants it just as bad as Jake does). It came out today...We usually don't play the Wii during the week (we are mean parents like that) but since Jake has no homework this week (they are taking the practice end of grade tests this week...don't even get me started on what I think of those tests!), and Aaron is laid up with an extremely large and purple ankle, they are playing it. I get to blog so you don't hear me complaining! :) Aaron stipulated that Jake could play it during the week if he put the $20 he saved into his savings account by Friday. Done. I don't think Aaron realized that I have Jake's savings account on line so I just transferred it on into his account and put the cash right in my pocket! That isn't nearly as fun as it sounds though. I have to run to the grocery store to get a couple of things tonight (they go off sale today and I have a coupon so I can't miss them...Deodorant for 13 cents and eggs for 99 cents... Why doesn't the computer have a cents button?)
My guys with the new game:


*Sadie is 12 weeks old today. She had to go to the vet yesterday for her puppy booster shots and she weighs 19.2 pounds. That is 6 pounds she has gained...in 3 weeks. She is going to be a big girl. Sadie figured out how to jump on the couch. She hasn't done it since though since she got in trouble because she is not supposed to be on the couch! :) She loves ice cubes and Granny Smith apples...which I am hoping dogs can eat. Our other 2 didn't like any fruits (Daisy did like grapes-which dogs are not supposed to eat. It didn't effect her in the least though. She had an iron stomach.) or veggies (if we gave them a plate to lick off, it would be completely spotless besides a stray green bean or piece of lettuce.), so I am going to have to do some research. She also got to eat her first Dorito and piece of cheese also. Both of which fell on the floor and she instantly retrieved. Sadie loves to eat rocks...(she may not be as bright as our last 2 dogs were) or at least retrieve them and chew on them. Jake claims he did see her eat one, which really wouldn't surprise me all that much...and is starting to go out in the backyard and hang out by herself. She used to be scared if no one went with her. :) She is still afraid of the dark, or at least shadows in the dark. And she still sneaks into Jake's room after he goes to sleep to try to sleep in his room with him. She lays down with her head under his bed...I have a feeling she thinks I can't see her, but I can. One more thing I have learned about he recently is that if she goes into her crate (which is wire...meaning we can see her...) and is very quiet she probably stole someone's shoe and doesn't want us to know. Sadie is a mess! Okay, this has been a long and rambling post so I will end with a few fur ball shots and call it good. I have to go see how this new Star Wars game is... :)

Sadie after she came inside. It looks like she was enjoying some dirt...and probably a couple of rocks...Check out her tongue
A demonstration of her "laying down" on command. She really only does it for treats, but she has figured out "sit" perfectly. She knows "come" too, but she doesn't always do it...thanks to Jake, her favorite game is chase. If you tell her to come she looks at you, thinks about it, wags her tail, and then doesn't come...I just trick her by running to were I want her to go (she likes to chase us, as well as being chased), or opening up the car door and acting like I am leaving...
Best friends.
This was a shot after I made her leave Jake's room 3 times after he went to bed. For whatever reason Jake's sweat pants were in the hall way so she laid with those instead (she had 2 comfy and huge beds she rarely lays on. She prefers the hard floor). I saw her outside the other day taking a nap with a pair of Jake's underwear...I sprayed them both with the hose last week and he striped down outside so he wouldn't get the floors all wet. Don't worry the back yard is fenced in like a secret garden, no one saw him...Why his underwear are still out there, I don't know, but that is a whole other story!
I just had to add this picture of the pretty flowers Jake picked me...Spring is here!
How stinking cute is she?!?!

It's 8:47 on Saturday night...What are you doing?...

...I am getting ready to get our clothes ready for church. I am going to pack up my bag tonight with everything I need for sharing time. I am going to get our Sunday meal all prepped. In other words I am going to be ready for Sunday! On Saturdays I should be singing the Primary song (Primary is kind of like Sunday School for the children at our church), "Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday!" I am actually ready (or I am about to be) this week. You remember that song from the 80's that says:"just another manic Monday. Ohhhhh. Wish it were Sunday..." I have to admit I don't always feel that way about Sunday. Not because I don't like going to church-because I do! Just because I always forget to prepare and we end up running out the door after a crazy 30 minutes of trying to pull it all together. Sometimes we play too long with Lego's or sleep in too long... :) But not this week! I am going to be ready!!! The house is clean (ish...you know what I mean...There is always room for improvement! We did pick up, dust, sweep, and all that jazz today.) and we are ready to go...Except one thing I literally just remembered. Jake is going to give a talk in Primary and he never did write it. No problem he can write it in the morning when we would normally be running around trying to find his other church shoe...which, by the way, is where it is supposed to be with the other one ready for Sunday. I even have the Primary CD in the CD player to set the mood...I am excited to start the week off right. Here's to non-manic Sunday's and starting the week off in the right frame of mind. Have a great Sunday whatever you and your family will be doing!

I didn't forget about St. Patrick's Day...

Jake just got in bed about 20 minutes ago...another late night, poor kiddo. He of course had tons of homework (boo) and he was signed up to go to a book club at the library. They were discussing one of the Magic Tree House books...The one about Leprechauns , whatever number that one is. Jake can read M.T.H. books in like 45 minutes, but he still loves them and was excited to go...and I am so glad he did! While he was in the book club I went and searched out some home schooling books and found a few that will be helpful. While I was waiting for Jake to finish I started reading them and then a mother from Jake's b-ball team (not this past season but the one before that) came up and talked to me and guess what? She home schools her kids (2 of which were on Jake's b-ball team and are 8 and 10-perfect ages for buddies and were in the book club!!) and told me all about the H.S. group she is involved in. Their group is based on the classics too and I am so EXCITED!!! She invited me to check it out and come to a meeting for preparation for the next session...But anyway back to St. Patt'y's day! They made leprechaun traps at the book club-but Jake decided to make his a leprechaun hotel. :) He had a great time and is excited for the next one in May. That was a nice way to celebrate St. Patty's Day! We usually have green eggs and ham for breakfast but, that just didn't happen today...But we did have our green mac' n' cheese (along with chicken nuggets) and green milk for dinner. Phew! Another day lived and loved-now I better get to folding laundry and throwing more in!

A day in the park...

We were on a mission to see a bunch of turtles...(Nee told us that 60 something turtles were seen at a park in our area so we had to check it out!) we only saw one, but we something even better! A park that reminded us (a little. A flatter version...) of Pisgah National Forest with hiking trails and a pond-that Sadie jumped in head first, in pure water dog delight, 2 times! (I realize that was a run on sentence...). Sadie and Jake waded in the water (Yes, I am the mom that lets their child wade in the water in March when it is only 60 degrees out. What can I say? We are water people!) and then checked out the dock. That is when Sadie decided to take the plunge 2 different times...Jake helped her in a 3rd time and she swam from the dock to the little beach area. She was so proud of herself! We had a great time exploring one of the trails a little. Jake loved the mountain bike jumps and Sadie loved running after him! We will definitely be going back...Especially since Sadie was so worn out she slept the whole way home and for pretty much the rest of the day. :)


We call this the "full on running picture".


Doesn't she look like a bear?
This is our version of keeping our dog on a leash. She is on a leash-see it on the ground behind her?

Sadie needed a bath big time when we got home. I think we are going to have to move to the tub next time...At one point she slipped free and was on the counter...I was wetter than she was I think!

My Simple Pleasure: Making Jakes Day with our little secret.

We have had a hard time getting going in the morning this week...Monday we really slept in. The rest of the week we just haven't been able to get moving. I think 2 late nights for Jake (Visiting teaching on Tues=in bed at 9:15. Cub Scouts last night=in bed at 8:30. I know that doesn't sound late but Jake is usually in bed at around 7:30. He takes after me-he needs his sleep!) made getting ready in a timely manner next to impossible. This morning we were really behind. (We didn't even leave the house until 7:15. It is about a 15 minute drive and you are tardy at 7:30.) At around 7:05 the rushing and on the verge of yelling began. Jake said something like "this day is going horrible already!" and I stopped. I made a split second decision. I said "You haven't been tardy all year, it's really no big deal. I know you are going to be tardy today because I am going to get you some breakfast (Jake still hadn't even eaten breakfast...) at Chick-fil-a. " Jake looked at me like I was crazy then smiled. I told him it would be our little secret (I didn't want him to go into school and announce to his not very understanding teacher that we were late because we went through the drive thru...), and that if this morning wasn't going well we would make something great happen by having a treat. I told him to stop rushing, worrying (his binder opened while he was putting it in his bag and papers were falling out...), and just take your time. We were going to celebrate that this was the first time he was tardy all year. There are lots of kids who have been tardy a bunch by now! Needless to say he went to school with a smile on his face and that makes me happy.

We have another secret (I blogged that we had a secret a while ago...Some of you already know this since I have confided in you because, I just had to tell someone, or I was picking your brain for ideas...) we aren't going to tell him until the end of the school year...Can you keep a secret from Jake? He will be the only one who doesn't know, so don't spill the beans. WE ARE HOMESCHOOLING NEXT YEAR!!! I am delighted to say the least. We have big but simple plans. We are going to jump off the conveyor belt and jump into an actual education! REMEMBER don't tell Jake...or anyone who may let it slip...I am thinking cousins who may say something with out thinking about it or primary friends...So, I guess you could say this is an adult secret! :) Those are my simple pleasures for today...

What is your simple pleasure? Check out Cocoa's blog for other simple pleasures.

Another one of those mornings...Brain declutter...

*I never did get around to blogging this weekend...But I did cut my grocery bill in half thanks to coupons, store deals, and my 10% off for being an employee (we get 10% off once a month). Coupons rock!

*Well, we have started the week off by sleeping in...Last night as I went to bed I realized I left my cell phone in the sunroom...where Sadie was already sleeping. No big deal. Jake always wakes me up at a little past 6 right before my alarm goes off any way. Yes, it is true I could have set an alarm on the alarm clock but then I just wake up every hour to check the time and see if the power went off, which means the alarm won't go off...I have issues with alarm clocks...The only trustworthy alarm clocks are cell phones and children...Except this morning. We woke up when Aaron came in the door from work at 6:58...We leave for school at 7 (or we are supposed to)...How is it that we made it to school in time, and most mornings we have at least 45 minutes to get ready and the last 10 of those are usually me on the verge of yelling (or maybe I yell just a little...)? We made it in time with no time to get ready...

*I hardly ever wear lipstick. I did the other day. This is what I learned from that experience: If you do a load of wash with lipstick in the pocket of your pants it is not a big deal...It is when you put it in the dryer that it becomes a problem. I have to go buy Jake a new white shirt for church. I really hope it comes out of my khaki pants...

*Mandatory meetings at 8:30 on Saturday morning for work really should start on time...Why Saturday morning any way? It didn't start until around 9:20...

*I held a baby yesterday. For 2 hours. Charlie is his name. I am in the Primary Presidency and his mom was helping with singing time. He is so sweet. He feel asleep and was cuddled up on my shoulder. I thought about kidnapping him, but his mom knows where we live so it wouldn't have worked any way. :)

*Sleeping in on a Monday morning=crazy puppy. Sadie usually wakes up early with us and is ready for her morning nap shortly after I get back from dropping Jake off. I play with her in the backyard or take her on a walk and she is ready for a snooze. Not this morning. That extra hour of sleep translated into a broken bowl. It broke after she ate her breakfast out of it and did a victory lap around the room at top speed. She took the corner to sharp, slide across the floor, and sent the bowl sliding across the tile floor. It then bounced off the wall and broke...

*I have been saying extra prayers for all the people in Japan....And in the Middle East...I had a hard time getting out of the car on Friday to go to work because I was listening to the events on the radio. Customers gave us updates through out the day...

*A note to Tina (my sister who just promised her son Saku a dog). You have to REALLY love dogs to survive the puppy stage. I love dogs with all my heart. Puppies are adorable!...but they are just like having a baby with sharp teeth, that can run around every where and go crazy when they are tired, not just cry. I love Sadie. I do. But she is insane at certain times of the day, and that is normal for puppies. Tina, you have 4 children and one of them is 2. GET A DOG NOT A PUPPY. That is just my advice to you. You can take it or leave it.

*Jake's teacher is not my favorite person...I have mentioned this before but I just needed to vent one thing she said last week that sums up how she is as a teacher. Jake came home and said "Mommy you HAVE to make sure you proof read this story for me. Mrs. Blank (that's not her name...But I am a little scared she may stay up at night searching for her name on the web and stumble upon my blog...she scares me a little...and yet we send our child to spend 7 hours of his day with her...) said if there is one misspelled word in any of our papers she will email our parents and tell you that you must not be able to spell."....I asked if she was joking and he said no she was serious and said it grumpily (that is how she talks 99.9% of the time). I have another story I could tell you about a paper that I had to come help Jake search through his desk for that she had the whole time, but I won't get into the whole thing. :) I don't like public school...at all. Which reminds me, has anyone watched "Waiting for Superman"? If not you should. It is a documentary about public schools and it is...scary and informative. It is everything we already knew about the public school system in America but with the statistics to back it up. Aaron said the only the part he wished they would have focused on more was the solution to the problem. I cried at some parts of it. You will too. If you have children in the public school system than you MUST watch it.

...I have to go now. Sadie just got a hold of on of my shoes...Remember Tina: DOG NOT PUPPY. You will thank me for it later. :)

Today...

...I feel like blogging not going to work! :) I can't complain I get paid to talk to people and push buttons...but I really want to check out every one's blogs and update mine! I have been making the weekends blog free, but I am going to have to break it this weekend...I need to declutter my brain!!! I guess for now I will go to work and blog later. Expect a brain declutter of enormous proportions later... TGIF!!!!

Simple Pleasures: Nail Polish (and venting just a little...)

I don't consider myself a girlie-girl but I have recently found great pleasure in nail polish. Yesterday we had to run to Target to get refill tape for my label maker (I will show you why later...) and stumbled upon this nail polish:

I have found that hands down Sally Hansen brand stays on the longest without chipping. I saw "Mint Sorbet" and fell in love! At work we all wear ugly, manly clothes. Khaki pants with blue polo shirts-that we have to tuck in. Wearing nail polish seems to make it more bearable. Plus 75% of the people that come into Bi-Lo have lovely fake nails. I can't afford them (neither can they...yes that is me judging, but this is my blog and I need to vent...I know they can't afford them because they are paying with Food Stamps. How can you use food stamps and justify fake nails, fancy clothes, and expensive purses? Okay-done venting.), so I buy $2.04 (Sally Hansen is usually more than that so I was even more pysched!) bottles of nail polish and look at my pretty nails while I push the buttons on the register. :) That is my simple pleasure this week. What is yours? Link up to Chocolate on My Cranium and join the conversation!

Note to Aaron...

Aaron you will probably read this tonight at work while you are bored, so I thought I would let you know 2 things now so I won't forget:

#1-Jake told me he couldn't wait to do more yard work with you. :) I am so glad you are teaching him how good hard work can feel. You are a wonderful example to him and me. Thanks for killing snakes, going to school, and working all night for us. I love you.

#2-Jake also told me you broke a promise to him. You promised him you would take him snowboarding...The season ended sooner than we thought...There aren't enough hours in the day...or days in the week...He gets the craziness of your schedule, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. He has $8 left to earn toward the new Lego Star Wars: Clone Wars Wii game coming out...He could easily be bribed into forgiving you (not that he is mad...he just thinks your forgot about snowboarding and it bummed him out...and he just remembered that you forgot, so I think he forgot too...), if you chipped in a little more...Just saying. :)

Sadie: 10 weeks

Jake and Sadie spend most of their play time doing this:
Sadie chases Jake and then Jake chases Sadie. I haven't captured Jake chasing Sadie yet but I will...And, by the way, Sadie can jump really high.
When Jake gets home from school he always has a snack. Sadie has figured this out and thinks she should get one too...This is how she hints it is her turn:

Why I can never leave the house again...

....Because of the neighbors we have. No, not the people. They are all very nice....In case you didn't know this about me: I HATE SNAKES. Today while talking with our neighbors (who had been doing some yard work and found 2 snakes that they chopped up), Sadie started to chew on something and ran back to our front step with it in her mouth. I went over and pulled it out...It was part of a snake. I had in my hand...part of a snake...To put it mildly....I FREAKED OUT. Then when I picked Jake up from school she found it on the step (I left it there in my nervous breakdown and thought Aaron was going to pick it up for me...) and got it again. I freaked out again and went in the house and let the men take care of it. So, now I think everything that moves is a snake. Aaron was doing some yard work and cleared this much space:


In that amount of space he killed 3 snakes....3...in that small amount of space. One was even a Cooperhead. Wonderful. Snakes apparently love all the beautiful green ivey...(You can see the pile of stuff he cleared sitting on the drive way in front of the space he cleared. He was hoping I would help bring it to the curb...I am trying to work up the courage..) I called my mom and told her the great news and she told me to put the house up on the market. :)

I wonder how many this spot on the side of the house (that we forgot about raking) has in it...
Could there be on hiding in this tiny pile of leaves the wind blew up by the front steps...A better question is why are there still leaves falling in Spring? Do they ever stop falling Mom and Dad?
I was just putting in a load of wash down in the cellar and wondering as I looked at the piles of sorted laundry if any had slithered their way in the house...I am going to have snake nightmares tonight I can tell already...
**Update! (and not a good one..) I went across the street to borrow a shovel (the one we have is in Spartanburg-my Dad has a flat one on the end, but Aaron needed the pointy one...and yes those are the technical names for them) from our neighbor and told her about the snakes. She said "Oh, the small Cooperheads? Yeah, I see them everywhere." She said this as if it was no big deal and she wasn't surprised at all. She sees them every spring when she cleans out around her bushes. She then went on to tell me there was a dead one on the sidewalk in front of her house...I didn't look for it...(She also told me about the huge snakes she used to see on their farm...Why did she have to tell me about the 8 foot long black snake?)..Fast forward until 7:30 pm when Jake and I were letting Sadie out to do her business in the front yard (she is afraid of the shadows in the the back yard at night). The same neighbors dog, Sam, was out and he came over to play with Sadie. We walked him back home after a few minutes and I carried Sadie back to our yard....Guess what I almost stepped on (within about a inch)? THE DEAD SNAKE!!!! Seriously! I am going to say an extra special prayer to not have nightmares tonight!!!!**