First, I know, I know…I’m so very late for posting about my Organization 2008 updates.

This past week, my goal was to clean and organize the Master Bedroom and closets (meaning me cleaning mine and him cleaning his).  Lucky for me, last year, I’d bought, assembled, and installed (with the help of my wonderful hubby) a closet shelving system.  So, that was grand.  Basically, I had a system in my closet already.  So, all I had to do was refold and reorganize a few things and then I was FINISHED with the closet!  Also, a few weeks ago, I bought a placemat in bright colors (plastic, and from Walmart) and some (as in, 2) aqua plastic stemware (with wide mouths, also from walmart) and a couple of matching bowls (also plastic, also from walmart, also aqua).  My wire closet organization system/shelving is not always the best thing for my jewelry. In fact, I didn’t really have a set up for my jewelry at ALL.  A few necklaces dangled off of a post, but everything else stayed in their respective boxes.  So, I put the placemat on that shelf (so I could put smaller items on the shelf and they wouldn’t fall through), and then used the two bowls to hold different things.  One holds random stuff – like receipts I need to keep, extra buttons, stuff that gets lines out of my clothing, coins, etc.  The other holds bracelets and earrings.  Then, I stacked my plastic stemware (they also have little bubbles in the design) so they resembled a fountain and draped my necklaces over the sides (on both tiers).  It kind of looks like a fountain…and if I didn’t have so many necklaces, I might be able to see everything.  Haha.  But, I have a feeling that I’ll be passing a few pieces on, once I figure out what I wear and what I don’t.  ( I just bought this jewelry from some family/friends jewelry parties last year.  And while I LOVE necklaces…I rarely wear them… – So, I’ll either wear them, or pass them on!)

I had a few things on “my side of the room” that were pretty random and totally didn’t belong, so I put those up.  Now, I have a few things for my huge giveaway for a local parenting site I have…but those will be gone first week of June.  So, that’s temporary.  And then…I gathered my huge pile of books from under my bed and reorganized them, stacking them in order by which I wanted to read first.  Let me tell you, I have a LOT of books on my reading list.  In fact, I just started and finished an entire book this past weekend.  I go through books fast, but also, I have been known to have several different books going at once (different genres).  The neat pile of books under my bed will most likely stay there.  Not the same books, but I’m sure I’ll always have a book list of cool finds.  I love books.  So sue me.  And, under our bed is hidden, I know where they are…so why not use the space —as long as it’s organized!

So, the room is almost completely organized, save for husband’s closet.  But, after a bit of a pep-talk we had, I’m hoping it will be finished tonight.    So, next on our list is the Dining Room/Kitchen.  We’ve decided to combine it all into one week.

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Lorelei is now walking more and more!  Of course, she’s still loving the crawling thing.  She’s not stupid.  She KNOWS how to get their faster.  She still  loves computers and food and animals.  In fact, just a second ago, she was trying to feed the kitty (Thomas) a USB cable.  He wasn’t buying it.  The kitties know they get in trouble for chewing cords of any kind.  Big trouble.  Baby L is doing great with “discipline” – which is mostly the word “NO” and occasionally a light smack on the hand if she keeps trying to touch something that she absolutely shouldn’t (things that could hurt her or break).  In fact, after a couple of run ins with the word, “NO”, she’ll often cruise by something (like animal food bowls), stop, look at it…look at us…and either shake her head “no”, say “no”, or both – and then keep crawling.  I love that she’ll touch something and then look TO US to see if it’s okay.  Sometimes she’ll test outside of that, just to make sure we are consistent…and we are.  I love this kid.

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And, lastly…I’m nearing 100 posts.  Like, SERIOUSLY nearing..  SOOOO…post me some random questions in my comments.  They can be funny, serious, whatever.  You can ask me random questions, cheesy questions, or stuff that you always wanted to know.  I promise!  I love questions, and I’ll answer almost anything.  I’m an open book (if you couldn’t tell already).  So PLEASE.  Leave me some questions.  I don’t care if you always comment, lurk, or whatever – just ask!!!  I feel stupid asking myself AND answering questions.  lol

Welcome back!

Please please please click the button above and find this picture:

And click on it.

Please? I’ll love you forever and ever. Okay I will anyways…but please?!?

As many of you know, I’ve been scouring the WWW for meals under $4, preferably under $2 (for 4 people). True, there are only 2 people and an almost one year old…but leftovers are my lunch. So…yeh. That, and I only had less than $50 to plan 2 weeks worth of meals.

In order to SAVE money (out of necessity, not because I intentionally like to eat CRAP), I’ve began planning my meals. Really planning. Meaning, cutting coupons and visiting Kroger.com just to find out what’s on sale and THEN plan kind of planning.

And, as much as I bitch and moan about it all…it’s kind of cool to know that I CAN buy food for a family of 4 UNDER $50 for 2 weeks.

Saturday (last Saturday): Ate with my mom, she paid. Pizza Inn. She rocks.

Sunday (yesterday): Grilled Chicken over Brown Rice with a sprinkle of cheese and some Ranch. We buy the boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen)…so we eat a LOT of chicken

Monday: Stouffer’s Lasagna. Have I told you my mother ROCKS? She also surprised me with a couple of bags full of groceries Sat night.

Tuesday: Chicken nuggets and fried potatoes. (B,S CB cut up and breaded and fried)

Wednesday: Spaghetti (noodles and Ragu sauce…total for this meal? $2!)

Thursday: Spaghetti…again. (Leftovers)

Friday: Bertolli Pasta for 2 (because my mom rocks)

Saturday: Hamburgers and hodogs (L’s first bday party!!!)

Sunday: Dirty Rice (Zatarain’s mix)

Monday: Lasagna (my mom still rocks)

Tuesday: Hamburger patty (no bun) and fried rice

Wednesday: Lasagna leftovers.

Thursday: Chicken quesadillas (B, S CB shredded or cut into strips, cheese, and tortillas) and beans?
Friday: Potatoes and eggs

Saturday: Chicken crescent rolls

Now, that’s thrifty.

And no worries…Lorelei will be eating a complete balanced meals with all her dairy, grains, fruits/veggies, and protein (before any concerned family asks).

Woke up to husband singing this song this morning:

“Something in your eyes…makes me want to kill myself…stick it to myself…”

Over and over…

Wondering if I should check my food for today?

So many memes – and you know I can’t refuse (this is my invitation to tag me for them ALL) Haha.

Got this one from Kathleen at So Grateful to be Mormon (thanks!)

one word meme.

you

can

only

type

one

word

answers

to

each.

thanks heather for the meme.

not as easy as you might think.  remember — only one word answers.

1.Where is your mobile phone? couch
2.Your significant other? “working”
3.Your hair? bedhead
4.Your mother? kind
5.Your father? stubborn
6.Your favourite thing? joy
7.Your dream last night? WEIRD
8.Your favorite drink? water
9.Your dream/goal? happiness
10.The room you’re in? LR
11.Your ex? which?
12.Your fear? loss
13.Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14.Where were you last night? tanning
15.What you’re not? male
16.Muffins? doughnuts
17.One of your wish list items? insurance
18.Where you grew up? here-ISH
19.The last thing you did? read
20.What are you wearing? tshirt
21.Your TV? off
22.Your pets? cuddling
23.Your computer? Mac
24.Your life? rollercoaster
25.Your mood? “existing”
26.Missing someone? always
27.Your car? broken
28.Something you’re not wearing? bra!
29.Favorite Store? many
30.Your summer? breathtaking
31.Like someone? yes
32.Your favorite color? pink
33.When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34.Last time you cried? yesterday
35.Who will/would re-post this? anyone

I tag YOU (yes YOU!)

I’d love to tell you that I had the energy to clean today. That, however, would be a lie. Instead, I organized a few things upstairs and brought a busting-at-the-seams notebook downstairs – Purely with the intention of going through it to figure out what I’d like to keep, and what to throw out.

It was a large, blue, and battered (well, still is I suppose)…and it was from my Senior year in Highschool. An accumulation of some of the papers I kept from that year. AP English. AP Art. AP Biology. Most everything was from English class. But, stuck deep down in one of the folders was a purple piece of paper, folded in half. It read: “Welcome to the Real World.” It was from a life skills program from the 4-H program – aka Reality Store. This tiny paper only brought back a couple of memories for me. One, I won the “best kiss” contest and thus won play money for my Reality Store Purchases (and, for the “real world,” I won chocolates and some Mary Kay lipgloss). Two, I remember doing exceptionally well in the reality store, and telling them that they didn’t truly cover their bases – For, if I only had such little cash, I would not pay for my kid a haircut. I’d do it myself. And, I would not take them to GAP…we’d hit up the consignment stores.

That’s it. Those were my two memories. Intrigued, I opened the folded purple paper, and began to read:

Let’s pretend you are 25 years old. You are the sole support for your household. Please answer the following questions prior to entering the Reality Store:

1. What level of education do you plan to complete? PhD

2. What is your occupations? Psychologist.

3. How many children would you have? 1

List gender and ages: girl, 2 years

4. Would you rent or own a home? Own

Describe your home: big

5. What kind of car would you have? Mustang (blue)

6. What would you do for entertainment? work/sports/be with my family

7. Where would you go on vacation? depends

8 . How much money would you like to be able to save each month? $1,000

9. When you purchase groceries, would you buy mostly low-cost, moderately -priced, or high priced items? Circle one. Whichever suits my needs. (I didn’t circle any)

Whoa.

At 22 years of age, I can most certainly tell you that I will not have a PhD in 2.5 years. No way. I do, however have one daughter…and she will be almost 3 by the time I’m 25. I will probably never buy that blue (2001) Mustang. Some priorities just change when you get older wiser.

But, as I read back over the words “Let’s pretend you are 25 years old. You are the sole support for your household…”, I am haunted. At 17, did I know something about myself – that now, I can’t even see? I AM wanting to go back to college – for psychology. Not necessarily for my PhD – but, at this stage in my life, I feel I should be capable of taking care of myself (and L), no matter what life shall throw my way. I wish I could go back to the naive manner in which I looked at certain things in my life, but I can’t. And, for that…I am a little bit sad…but mostly smarter. In some ways, I hope that Psychology degree that I hope to earn within a couple of years will sit on a shelf to collect dust, never NEEDING to be used. But, in some ways…I can’t honestly say that’s NOT being naive.

So, back to the Reality Store. Just for giggles, I’ll tell you what I got. We drew our “salary/circumstances/job” out of a hat. Mine was (at 25): Married, Delivery/Route Driver (HS degree), 8 year old girl and a 6 year old boy. Salary: 18, 163/yr (Per month: 1,513). Additional income: $200.

I came out of the Reality Store with some extra money. Even though they made me hit up the mall for the kids’ clothes. AND a salon for kid haircuts. Which was stupid.

We received these wonderful cards from Mimi and Gramps (my parents) for Easter. (Thank you!)

Does the baby’s head looks familiar?

And then our card…

Wtf? What EXACTLY are you trying to say?

I don’t see any resemblance…do you?

(Thanks for the cards, mom We loved them )

Happy Easter, everyone!

We finally got our new flip video cameras, and have had a little bit to play with them. Here’s my video, us just being goofy:

Okay…I’m so going to copy on this one. Kim over at Jogging in Circles posted some pretty drool-worthy guys on her blog for her Thursday 13. And, I wanted to share a few of my…um…celebrity crushes.

These are the guys I drool over think are pretty darn sexy (try not to drool over your computer screen too much —Oh what do I care, it’s your computer!):

First up, Jensen Ackles. What dreams are made of, mine anyways. *sigh*

Patrick Dempsey. Yummy.

Justin Timberlake. Day-um.

Ryan Phillipe…..RAWR.

David Beckham

Brad Pitt

Chace Crawford

Justin Hartley

Eric Dane

Huang Xiao Ming

David Boreanaz

Josh Holloway

Timothy Daly

Woohoo! I reached 13! Okay, that was a bit harder than I thought. Anyways, I hereby declare all of these men eye-candy-worthy. So, ogle all you want.

I know I write (a lot lately) and poke fun at my husband. But husband, I swear I do love you (I do love him!). And, I say it all in fun.

I might even let you in the door if you did show up without the hammer. Maybe.

But, I wanted to dedicate this to you:

I still hate Stevie Wonder’s music, and listening to it really does make me want to claw my eyeballs out and my ears bleed. Still. But, I know you love it. So, this is for you.I love you.

Ashley