The Corie Chronicles

We went out last night...

2009-06-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Wooo! Last night was our long awaited Kenny Chesney concert! And it was awesome, y’all. And, yeah, I just said “y’all”. What??

Let me tell you a little story first: We parked, we’re walking, we buy cowgirl hats, we’re walking, I say “Oh no! I forgot my sweater. Let’s go back to the car.” But then I instantly decided that I did not need a sweater, it IS the end of June and all. So, we keep walking, and thank God we did because we’re just walking along, not knowing really where we’re going and these security guards are all “Ladies, over to the side, get out the way” so we move over to the side, out of the way and we’re just standing there because like I said, we didn’t know where we were really going or anything. So, anyway, all these people are camera-ready and I turn to the lady behind me and ask “Why are we all just standing here, out of the way?” and she tells me that they’re hoping Kenny comes through, so we’re waiting and dont’cha know, here comes Kenny effin’ Chesney on a golf cart. So, we’re all screaming “Kenny! OH My GOD!! Ahhhh!” and he rode.right.by.me and I.SQUOZE his BICEP, I squoze his bicep, people!!! I touched Kenny Chesney! With my bare hands.

Take a lookie at how close he was to where we were:

Can you say "starstruck"?!! Bliss.

Then we went in, got situated and Lady Antebellum started the show. They were soooo much fun and even though the stadium hadn’t really filled up yet, they really worked with the crowd and it was a super good performance.

Next was Miranda Lambert. I just HEART Miranda Lambert; I probably have a girl crush on her. She’s so feisty and, well, I just love me some angry girl music. She was soooooo cool, she told stories, she had a bright pink guitar and I love her little southern twang. She rocks.

Montgomery Gentry took the stage after Miranda and they were very impressive. Eddie worked the crowd like no other, they were funny, and they played a lot of good songs. And T-roy looked really good. I’ve been very excited to see them for months and they totally delivered.

Sugarland. Ah. What can I even say??! There aren’t even words. They are one of my absolute, all-time faves and they were a.maz.ing. They way they interact with each other and feed off each other is incredible. Jennifer’s voice is so pretty and I just LOVE Christian so very much, he seems like THE coolest cat. And they did this really cool thing where they got into these giant clear plastic balls and rolled over the crowd and they were reallllllly close to us. (In that video, we were just over to the right from Jennifer.)

Kenny Chesney was okay. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he puts on quite a show but it seemed really short and kinda low-energy. I don’t know if it’s just that the build-up was so big, maybe too big, and I was left feeling let down or what. He came down from the “sky” which was really cool and yes, okay fine, he was good and lots of fun, I don’t know why I’m saying anything bad about him. I guess I just enjoyed the rest of the concert SO very very much, I wasn’t as impressed with the Big Guy.

My hands still hurt from clapping so much. I still have NO voice from all the screaming. But, I’m still smiling! I’m going again next year for sure.

Photos courtesy of Amanda. I didn’t bring my camera, of course. And do I know how to get to the pictures I took with my phone? Nope.

They've got Whatever It Is

2009-05-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

My new love is the Zac Brown Band. They're so adorable, and even though they've only had two songs out on the radio (on our ONE country station) I've downloaded a lot of their stuff, and I simply adore them. I don't exactly know what it is about them but they've got something that I totally dig.

I also saw a little interview on GAC where they talked about how they write all of their own stuff and they just seemed like genuinely nice guys. And a lot of fun too, I'd love to hang out with them!

And I LOVE the fiddle in this one...

But this is my current FAVE song by ZBB, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE the little bit of "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison they included in the middle of this live version I found on YouTube. I HEART Van Morrison, so now I'm convinced that Zac and I are, like, "right there".

Enjoy!

Oh boy!

2009-05-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was awesome. I love Mother's Day, I think it's my new favorite holiday. I slept in till 8:30-8:45 and the boys had made me a banner, and they gave me my gifts in bed (flowers, cards, a gift certificate to the spa... this is what Tim gets me for every single holiday) then, I went into the kitchen because Tim said he made coffee... but there was no coffee. Bceause my coffee pot broke. I don't know how or what the hell happened, it was fine on Saturday, then yesterday, it just wouldn't brew. It was turned on, according to the little green light, but it wasn't doing anything. We made 3 trips to Dunkin Donuts and 1 to Starbucks but now it's Monday, and I can't very well be dragging little kids around town just to fulfill my caffine addiction. So. I'm using a coffee press. A fucking coffee press. It makes 2 cups of coffee TOPS (if you use a big mug) and it doesn't keep it warm at ALL. It's bullshit.

I have to go get a new coffee maker. Tonight. I can't live another day like this.

Anyway, we met the in-laws for breakfast for Mom's Day, Tim's brother and his family were there, it was okay. Then we went to the Wildflower Preserve at Bowman's Hill, which was so nice and relaxing, we had lunch there and when we came home, both boys napped and woke up in fantabulous moods before we headed over to my parents for dinner.

And then, last night, Tim even watched The Sound of Music with me. And he let me sing at the top of my lungs without making any rude comments about how I should be in show-biz. Yesterday was a great day.

Tim does good on holidays. He doesn't always do so good on regular days. Maybe that's only because there's a lot more regular days?

Done!

2009-04-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Something unsettling happened this week. I had a period scare; I was over a week late. If anything, it just confirmed the following: We are done having kids. I am done having kids; I’m pretty sure Tim would have been okay if I wanted to just stop at one, but I wanted two and I wanted a brother for my baby boy and I got that, and now… I’m all done! Get me out of the chair and away from the table or I will start screaming and throwing my chicken nuggets and diced banana on the floor.

Needless to say, I was actually giddy when it arrived!

I like things how they are, thankyouverymuch. My boys are easier today than they were yesterday. And they’ve been getting progressively easier as they’re getting older. Maybe the word “easier” is being used a little too loosely here; they give me a hard time and I’m sure those hard times will just keep getting harder as they get older, but they ARE easier than a newborn baby, for crying out loud. Newborns, or infants, or anything younger than one year olds, are SO hard, yo.

They don’t cry when I walk out of a room; actually, I think they might just like it. They very rarely projectile vomit. They walk! Nate walked around his first birthday; Matthew was more like 15-16 months old. And he’s a tank of a child. 30 pounds at almost-2 compared to his brother’s 36 pounds at almost-4. They walk right beside me, they hold each other’s hands nicely, and we just walk like Real People into places. Sure, they might dead weight themselves as we’re walking out because they don’t.want.to.leave, but they still walk.

If Nate would stop coming into our bed in the middle of the night, I would be getting a full night’s sleep. But! Technically speaking, they do “sleep through the night”… which in my book means I don’t have to change or feed or rock them. If I just have to move over a little to let him squeeze in beside me, that’s fine, he can sleep next to me and rub my cheek as long as he wants to as long as he lets me sleep. I can sleep through his many verses of Old MacDonald, but I can’t sleep through a reflux-y baby screaming all night long, while my ‘pretty useless during the day – definitely useless through the night’ husband snores beside me. I like feeling rested when I wake up, even if they drive me so hard into the ground that I’m crashing by 3pm.

We can just get up and go places. We like that. No bottles or worrying about breastfeeding in public, or if we’ll need a blanket in the restaurant, what if it’s cold? No baby food! They can eat anything, anywhere, anytime! No worrying about naptimes, Mattie still takes a nap every day obviously, but he can skip and not be too, too, too out of control.

They have real personalities. They’re fun, and funny, and interesting and just plain ol’ cool little guys. I like hanging out with them all day long. I actually like my “job”. I’ve wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, and when they were infants, I loved it, I thought it was everything I’d been waiting for, but really, this, right now, is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. School, and all the art projects and birthday parties and sports, and watching my boys be friends, playing together, fighting or sharing, snuggling or smacking, I love their interactions. I’m happy to keep moving forward knowing that we won’t be back in that place of caring for a newborn.

I’m sure that my uterus will still ache just a smidge every time I see or smell or even think of a brand spankin’ new baby, but after this last week, I know for sure that it won’t be mine. Well, not on purpose, anyway.

Rain, Rain: GO the eff AWAY!

2009-04-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

So, stupidly, I planned this week’s menu without looking at the forecast. It's rain, folks, from today clear through till Wednesday night.

Smart. It’s not one of my strong points.

The menu consists mainly of meals that I need to cook, in whole or in part, on the grill. We don’t have a covered patio or anything in the back yard. This means Big Trouble or Big Change of Plans.

I’d prefer not to change The Plan. It's a delicious plan.

Monday:

Chicken Fajitas
Corn on the Con
Salad

Tuesday:

Grilled Pizza (thanks DMC!)
Salad

Wednesday:

BBQ Chicken
Fruit Salad
Corn Bread

Thursday: (my parents are coming over)

Cheeseburgers
Baked beans
Salad

Friday:

Chicken
Pasta
Salad
Garlic Bread

Saturday:

Steaks
Baked Potatoes
Grilled Asparagus

So, now, I have to decide first if you can even grill in the rain? Would that be stupid? I have rain boots and a matching umbrella! ???

If grilling in the rain is not possible, do I pull a major white trash move and grill out front where I can seek shelter? I mean, it’s L-town, no one would even notice, probably, right?

But if I do, do I have to put my sofa out there too? The picnic table? A lamp?

Nice and Normal

2009-04-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty good weekend over here.

My parents took the boys overnight on Saturday night. We dropped them off around 2pm on Saturday, then Tim and I did a little shopping before we came home and did some stuff around the house. I reorganized the kitchen cabinets, Freecycled a lot of junk and ate Jelly Belly’s; Tim worked on the yard and washed our cars. We’d already marinated a couple steaks for dinner, but at the last minute changed our minds and decided to go out instead.

I called PF Chang’s around 7, thinking that an 8:30pm reservation would be just perfect. All I could get was 10pm. Wow. 10 P.M. We hadn’t eaten that late since before we had kids… a period of time that we lovingly refer to as our “Glory Days”.

It was surprisingly… nice… to be out having dinner that late. There wasn’t a single child in the restaurant. In fact, the whole place was full of adults. No crying, no screaming and it’s not the kind of place with balloons, so it was really (here’s that word again)… nice. Calm, relaxing, we ate slowly; we weren’t two steps ahead of the waiter, asking for take out containers during appetizers and requesting the check as he delivered our meals. We ate like normal adults. Isn’t it peculiar that we felt weird acting normal?

By the time we got home and ate the desserts we brought with us, it was close to one in the morning, which was fine because we got to sleep in until around 11am. It was really (here’s that word again, again)… nice. And weird too. Yep, nice and weird, just the way I like it.

We picked the kids up around 2pm on Sunday, and we took them to the lake and then spent a lot of time outside. Later, we grilled the steaks we marinated the night before and it was a nice, relaxing evening, even with the kids. But there was the regular fussing, fighting and "OMG shut up!" moments, but that's our "normal" and, you know what? That's just the way I like it, too.

Yep, pretty good weekend over here.

Ten Things I'm Loving Right Now

2009-04-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

1. Old Country Music

Merle Haggard, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Johnny Paycheck, David Allen Coe, Hank Williams Jr., I'm sooooo loving some older country these days. Ho' down!

2. Bare Escentuals Warmth

After hibernating through the winter months, I need a little warmth on my skin. And this one doesn't look fake. Bravo, Leslie!

3. Pirates!

Arrr! I love me some pirates and skulls. Actually, I dig the whole scene. These fuckers have made it hard to justify my pirate love, but, really, I just dig the make-believe pirate scene. I'd have made a good pretend pirate, I think. I look good in tight pants and blouse-y tops.

4. Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Latte

This whole love affair started at Christmas. Because -- OMG -- They had peppermint whipped cream. They don't have that anymore, but I've carried the Peppermint Mocha addiction straight through Patty's Day and now that's it's warming up, I'll just ask: Peppermint Mocha Fraps, anyone? Or should I ask, 17 grams of fat, anyone?

5. Clorox Greenworks Toilet Bowl Cleaner

I just like it. As much as one can like a toilet cleaner.

6. The weather

It's creeping towards spring and I love warm, yet breezy days. This rain can hit the road though.

7. Brie Cheese

Tim and I go through these wacky dessert/snack phases like soft pretzels with Cheese Whiz, brownies with peanut butter or s'mores but right now, it's Brie on buttery crackers, spread with raspberry jam. God damn, it's good.

8. V-8 Splash

It's such a yummy fruit juice. It's sugary sweet BUT, don't fret, it has vitamins!

9. My slippers

I got new ones at Wal*Mart for $9.97 and they are the best slippers I've ever, ever owned. They're very old man looking, which was the inital attraction, but now that's just a bonus.

10. Softlips

Remember Softlips? From high school? I found some at Target earlier in the winter, became an addict and I've blown through six tubes of it already. It's tingly, and I get tingly when I think of all the memories that it brings back.

Maple Syrup... Mmmmmm. Zzzzzzz.

2009-04-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

I accidentally overdosed on maple syrup today.

The result of a self-induced sugar coma is laziness. Jot it down.

Things started out okay. We got up, got dressed and out the door in a timely fashion, which never happens, so that was a Bravo for me! We met some friends for breakfast at Cracker Barrel and that’s precisely where my day ended.

I ordered the Momma’s French toast breakfast, because I am, in fact, A Momma, and it does, in fact, include four (count them!) slices of French toast, two eggs (scrambled, for me, with cheese, naturally), and I chose sausage as my obligatory breakfast meat. Why stop there, you’re wondering? I know! I couldn’t either! I also got a side of hash brown casserole.

*insert a variety of barnyard animal noises here*

I did share nicely with Mattie.

Nate had a kid’s meal of two pancakes and a side of bacon.

I doused my French toast in so much of their amazing 100% pure maple syrup and then I had a little dipping pool of the shit on the side, to dip my already too maple-syrup-y French toast in. I actually feel a little sick thinking about it. Then, I had three cups of coffee, trying desperately to give my body energy after I weighed it down with all that food.

Then we left. And I was left feeling very full and sleepy.

And that’s where the day officially ended. I did not lift a finger for housework or cooking or baking or anything that I didn’t HAVE to do. I haven’t even gotten the mail yet. Maybe I’ll live on the edge and leave it there till tomorrow. Ooooh, the mailman will think we’re on vacation!! How exciting!

I set up the sand/water table my kids got for Easter in my kitchen because I’m cool and fun (and plain stupid) like that. Just water, no sand, so I can easily say “It’s just water, people!” except I won’t say that, all that I will say is “It offered hours of fun, people!”. After I got sick of the mess, I put the cover on and they’re still playing with their cars on it. Not that stupid of an idea in the end, people.

What did I do while they enjoyed this wet, indoor fun? I learned a lesson. No, not that I shouldn’t let them play with water inside, that would be too OBVIOUS. Here’s the lesson: I can guiltlessly ignore my kids when I’m on the computer or the phone but if I’m laying on the couch, it just feels wrong. I know this now, because that’s what I did. I curled up on the sofa, under a blanket and everything, and I tried to watch a movie but it... just felt wrong. Too stereotypically lazy, I guess. Jot that one down, too. Mommy guilt can be a bitch.

Just like Mother Nature can be a bitch. The reason my kids were playing with water INSIDE is because it was raining today. After ALL I do for her, she rains when Nate is on school break, can you believe it? So, when Nate threw the banana I handed to him directly into the trash, I left it there. I could have gotten it out and put it in with the composting, the bag was empty, it wasn’t gross or anything, but I’m spiteful like that. No potassium for you, Earth.

Too much sugar makes me lazy and nasty, too, apparently. Yay. Another reason to stick to the diet.

Harry Kalas

2009-04-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

Our city was saddened when we heard that the announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies, Harry Kalas, passed away this afternoon. Harry was found in his booth at 12:30pm, just before today's game against the Washington Nationals, which for some reason makes me feel so peaceful. Here's a man who spent 21 of his 73 years announcing for the Phils, and he dies right where he loved to be.

Harry Kalas started announcing for the Phillies in 1971, seven years before I was born. Those that know me even a little bit know that I’m not a sports fan. But, I grew up in a house where my dad supported Philadelphia teams, and my husband is exactly the same way (if "exactly" means "much more obsessively obsessed"). So, I grew up listening to Harry’s voice. A summer evening ball game won’t be the same without it. Falling asleep on the sofa on a Saturday afternoon was easy if the game was on because Harry’s voice was so soothing. Being at the game, hearing him shout “It’s Outta Here!’ made up part of the whole experience.

Very sad news. RIP Harry Kalas. Philadelphia will miss you.

My Everyday Style

2009-04-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

I was discussing blogging about this very topic yesterday with my friend, Amanda during one of our many daily chats. She said I should, she's sick of reading about people's kids and then I said "Yeah, but I dress so boring, all I wear is jeans and a tank with a tee" and she was all "That's what I'm wearing! What, are you calling me boring, bitch?" (Oh, we're allowed to talk to each other like that. We go way, way, waaaay back. If real life were Harry Potter, she'd be my SecretKeeper.)

So, here's my everyday. I don't consider my self a boring person, of course... who does, really? But, I'll admit my wardrobe isn't very exciting. It's bountiful, sure, but full of lots of boring duplicates, of the same boring things, in every boring color they make Boring in.

Jeans. Everyday in the winter, spring and fall. And even some days during the summer but I never wear denim shorts. I really like my jeans to be old and broken in. And hanging off my ass so bad that I need a belt. Also, I LOVE holes, and rips and tears and stuff. In fact, my favorite jeans have a hole in the knee so large that I live in fear of falling asleep before Tim... I know he'd betray me and throw them away.

Tanks and Tees. I like V-neck tees because of my big ol' boo-bays. Crew necks make me look like I have one giant boob, I think. And I like wearing a contrasting colored tank under my tee, for what, I don't know? I think it makes me look skinnier? I like wearing different colors? I like it when Tim tells me I don't match? Therefore, I always wear one.

Cardigan sweaters. I'm obsessed, it's a sickness, really. They are so very cozy, and in the fall and spring, I often opt for a cardigan instead a jacket. I have all kinds of styles but prefer ones with huge pockets for toting chapsticks and treats. I wish I could say I wear brightly colored ones, but folks: it's always brown, black, tan, gray, ivory or white.

Shoes. I'm not one of "those" girls. Nope, not me. Again, I prefer my shoes to be broken in, just like my jeans. And then I wear them 'til they break. And then I cry and try to find an exact replacement but by then, so much time has passed, they're discontinued. It's traumatic. Right now, I'm real into my Pr!vo's. and my pseudo-Converse slip-ons from Target. They're both comfy for my wide ol' clown feet.

Jewels. I always wear my wedding band & engagement ring. Duh. And I usually wear my pearl earrings and my diamond studs simply because I wanna be like Prince. I also usually wear two of my Nana's pearl bracelets and my Name Disc Necklace, which is engraved with my boys names.

Nail Polish. My nails and toes are painted either Sweetheart pink or Eiffel For This Color blackish-wine nail polish at all times. I find the darker color to be so grossly obvious when it chips, so my polish color depends on how busy of a week I'm having.

That's it. Isn't that boring? I wish I dressed like Carrie on Sex and the City.

SO! I think that buying some fun things would be a spiffy idea. I've been DYING for jeans just like THESE! Also, I've been coveting this PinTucked Tunic Dress for weeks, although I think I'd still wear it with jeans because - wowzers - is it short and with two little boys, I do a great deal of bending and crouching and crawling and running and jumping and dancing and sometimes they like to hide under my dresses in public and jeans just make that all seem like not a Big Deal. And, honestly, my ass hanging out a dress does not make for a pretty picture. Just trust me.

Can I Be a Teenager for Two Seconds?

2009-04-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, first, dudes, 90210 last night was whack. Drama! Angst! Craziness! All in pure 9-0 style... you know, ridiculous but all-consuming. For an hour, anyway.

I felt so sad for Silver, but you now who I feel worse for? That Mr. Matthews, aka Ryan. Good God, does he get blamed for just about everything, or what? Poor guy.

Next week Donna's coming back and YAY for that! I just love it when the old cast is on the screen, I can feel my lungs filling up with a scream just thinking about it.

Okay, moving on...

Second, I am in love with the song "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. Weird, I know. I don't even know one other song Miley Cyrus sings. Or any of Hannah Montana's hits. I just really like the message it sends to young girls. I don't know if I necessarily completely agree that it doesn't matter how fast you get there or that it's not about what's waiting on the other side, because sometimes, it is but really, overall, it is very important to focus on the teensy steps that get you there. Bravo, Miley!

A Com-post!

2009-04-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

During naptime today, I was reading some blogs... you know, just killing the long, boring hour I endure all by myself now and then, because it's almost impossible to get two napping kids these days.

Anyhoo, I stumbled across a composting post over at This Young House's blog. I'd been thinking about composting a lot recently, it just seems like something my family would be good for, considering the amount of produce and coffee we go through in a week. And I've been bored with my efforts to be a better friend to the planet; I could do more, I should do more. But... I didn't know. Us, composting? God, wouldn't that, like, smell real bad? With two little ones, don't we kinda deal with enough stuff that, you know, smells real bad?

Growing up, our next door neighbors were Composters. They had a small, shallow hole in the ground, and they would fill it with their scraps, turn the dirt and then the whole neighborhood would be offended by the ungodly smell.

After doing a smidgen of research I discovered that with no container and no lid, it's no wonder!

The Youngsters made it seem really easy to make your own composting container with this step by step DIY guide. And just now, using a Rubbermaid container I'd already owned and some dry leaves that I stole from under my neighbor's tree, I crafted my very own composting bin! It was EASY, and using a power drill is always a good time.

I'm very excited about it, especially since I have Big Plans to start a garden this year, and once I use up some of the compost I've made in my garden, we'll buy a real, commercialized composting bin and just start again but I'd really like to see if it works out well for us first. Right now, I've got the boys snacking on apples, a fresh pot of joe brewed and the dryer running so I'm bound to catch some lint! Snack + afternoon coffee + finished laundry now = composting fun!

It looks ridiculously easy, and there's so many things you can compost; I'm amazed. Obviously, you can compost anything that's organic in origin, such as all fruit and veggie peels and cores, stale chips and dry cereal, pastas and rice, but you can even compost unusual things like dryer lint, paper towels, wool socks... the list is crazy... there are soooo maaaaaany things I just toss into the garbage, it's unreal. And - thank God - I now have a place for all that leftover chicken manure!

Crisis: Laundry!!

2009-03-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty good at my job, I like to think. I like to clean and keep a tidy house, so housewifing isn't all that difficult or unpleasant for me. But everyone has small struggles in their field, I guess, and mine would be laundry. I cannot stay on top of laundry. And I trrrrrry. And I faaaaail.

We just got our spring/summer stuff down from the attic. And by "just", I do mean 3 weeks ago. The boxes sat in the hall for about a week and a half. Then I moved them into a closet for a couple days - I figured that if I wasn't going to do anything about them, I should probably just move them out of sight so I could stop talking about them, too.

But, then I remembered them. Or, Nate reminded me of them because he found and wanted to wear the too small Phillies jammies that I saved for Mattie. That was a whole different crisis.

So, last night before I went to sleep, I dumped all of the boxes of clothes onto the floor so that they would be in my way big time and I'd HAVE to do something about them. Kinda pathetic that it has to reach this drastic extreme, don'tcha think?

Well, it's working. When I woke up, I threw a load in before I even started the coffee pot. As of right now, I have about five loads washed, dried and folded and three more loads to wash, four to fold. Of spring/summer boxed up shit. Then I have a load or two of our regular clothes. Then towels. And the sheets I never washed on Sunday when I changed everyone's bedding.

And then there's the new problem of piles of folded clothes that are all over my house... on the coffee table, on one of the sofa's in the living room, in baskets all around the place... little piles of everyone's stuff, separated and ready to be put away. Putting away is hard for me, too.

Housewifery is tough work, yo.

This bag!

2009-03-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

I covet it! I want, need and have to have it for spring. It. is. awesome. So ugly... it's lovely.

I don't carry a diaper bag, or a purse even, all that often, really. I'm more of a "jam it in my pockets" kind of girl. Or I just carry my wallet into stores and let my kids look after it for me. But, this bag, this bag could get carried.

I think I could use it as a diaper bag-slash-purse, as it's big enough to hold lots of junk that probably doesn't need to be toted around, anyway. And then, in the middle of the summer, when I get real sick of it, I'll make it my beach bag.

Sold! I will be it's proud owner in just 3-4 short business days.

If Momma Ain't Happy...

2009-03-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've "gone green". It's been years for us, actually. I was using fabric grocery sacks back when people still stared at people who used fabric grocery sacks like they were bizarre. I started cleaning greener when I had my kids; I was a Bleach Freak before and found that with a little extra elbow grease & a squirt of Dr. Bronner’s, I can clean just as effectively without it. We've always recycled, even back in the day when all we had to fill our bin were empty beer cans and wine & liquor bottles. We’ve changed our light bulbs and we’ve changed our ways. We’re putting forth extra effort every day to conserve energy, gas, waste... we're doing our part.

Are you?

To show Mother Earth that you’re on her side, participate in this year’s annual Earth Hour. Earth Hour began in 2007 and this will be our family’s second year participating. How can you join in, you wonder? It’s easy! From 8:30-9:30PM (your local time) on Saturday, March 28, 2009, just turn off all the lights, TVs, appliances, all of it; just turn everything off and unplug stuff and whatnot.

What to do with a whole hour without modern technology or, gasp! lights? The Daily Green had some pretty hot ideas. We’re thinking of getting drunk and playing games. If the kids are still awake, which they best not be, and it’s not raining/too cold, we’re thinking of taking a moonlit stroll and then having a picnic-snack on a blanket in the family room.

It’s only ONE hour. (But don't miss the point: this is your way of telling the world that you're doing a part to help with climate change and you really shouldn't do it for JUST one hour a year, you should just do your damn part every day. Just sayin'.)

I’m sure you can find something to do for one hour. Grab a flashlight and make a list of all the things you HAVE to do once the lights, the washing machine, and the telephone all get turned back on. You’ll probably appreciate the calm, dark, quiet hour you’re giving back to Mother Earth.

Katie-Katie

2009-03-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

This is our dog, Katie.

She goes by Katherine in more formal situations.

We got Katie last September. She kind of found us, I like to think. I’d been looking for a dog to adopt, and a friend of my sister-in-law’s had a dog they needed to get rid of. They have four kids, and their youngest was allergic to Katie. So, she came to live with us.

Her official breed is ~~Redbone Coonhound~~ Attention Hound. She came from a breeder who bred dogs for show. If the dogs weren’t of show quality (AKA Katie), they would see if they could be sold as a hunting dog, which her breed generally is. If not, as I suspect Katie wasn’t, they were sold as regular family pets.

Now, I don’t know Katie’s entire past, in the year before she moved in with us, she very well may have gone hunting. She may have gone strawberry picking or shoe shopping, or maybe even to Charleston to try out for American Idol, I simply do not know. And she doesn’t like to talk about it.

Coming from a family of four kids, she fits in very well here. My two kids roll all over her, they open her mouth and put food and toys inside. When they’re playing in the backyard, she’s laying right there with them. When they come inside, the three of them lie down, and watch TV, my boys using her as a pillow. She’s their playmate, their buddy, their companion; she really is the dog I’ve always wanted. Plus she’s very fancy as far as hound dogs go; she gets her nails painted and she crosses her paws like the lady she wants to be. And for all of that, I love her.

If we put all of that aside, she truly drives me insane. She is ALL up in my dance space, all effin’ day long. She follows us everywhere; wherever we are... there she is. With her old family, she was confined to the laundry room often, but here, oh no no, she sprawls out on the furniture. She eats food right off the table. She barks to come in 2 seconds after she cries to be let out. She thinks she deserves treats for merely existing. She’s extremely obnoxious when she eats. She hates the rain, refuses to go out in it unless I go with her.

So, a few weeks ago, I had an “A-ha” moment, and decided to use her extreme fear of water to my direct advantage. A squirt bottle. It didn’t take long. I hold that sucker up, say “Katie, go lay down” in my most convincing voice and she hauls ass like her tail is on fire to lay on… the… family room sofa. Hey. I’m working on it.

Smooth

2009-03-24T15:52:00.001-07:00

Spring is here, and before we know it, it's going to be time for shorts and skirts and tanks and other articles of clothing that show off the body parts we've been trying to hide all winter long. Which is great! Who doesn't love warm weather and skirts?

I have one teensy problem. I like to snack. At night. When I'm watching my shows. Like, tonight, I have The Biggest Loser, and I'll want to snack while I watch people work-out and weigh-in. I've been doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred and I've been liking it, but it's not enough. I'd love to pretend I'll never snack at night ever again, but let's just face it, that's never going to happen.

So. I've been making smoothies.

They are so good! And lower in calories and fat than, let's say, molten chocolate lava cake, or pound cake, or any kind of cake, really. And they're fun, so I enjoy my snack ten times more simply because there's a straw involved. Win-Win. Win.

I use a bit of V-8 Splash Tropical Blend juice, a couple dollops of non-fat organic vanilla yogurt and some fresh or frozen peaches, pineapples, sometimes a half of a banana, always about a cup of ice, and then I blend it up. And I always drink it with a straw.

Twilight

2009-03-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we watched Twilight. I read the books after half the world read them, and it wasn't in the movies after I finished them, so I had to wait for DVD. Which is fine... this is what I do.

So, my review: I liked it. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. If I hadn't read the book, I think I would have thought it was a stupid tweener vampire movie, but since I had read the book, I enjoyed it. Too much probably.

I do heart me some Edward. He's so hot, it shouldn't be allowed. Plus, he's sweet and romantical. And fictional. Heh.

Things You Should Know About Me

2009-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

You should know that the last birthday I celebrated was my thirtieth. Admittedly, as the months crept closer and closer to B-Day, I was completely, totally, absolutely, certifiably terrified because OMG, 30 is all old and shit. But. If I'm being honest here, I'm really, really, really, truly, madly, deeply loving 30 thus far.

See, here's the thing... the thing is that I know who I am now. That's the thing. Like, I really k-n-o-w and accept who I am, and more importantly, I like who I am. There's always room for improvement, of course, hence Jillian Michaels coming into my life, but, I'm happy 93% of the time, and I'm content 100% of the time. Okay, maybe 99% of the time, but 99 is still a real good number.

I do worry that I'm no longer allowed to think that John Travolta looked good in Grease? High school student? Yes or no?

As I may mention them from time to time, you should note that I am married with two children. I met my husband, Tim, during our senior year of high school and seven short years later, he proposed. We married in 2004; we'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this May. As adorable as that might sound (and as adorable as it sometimes is) we have our marital troubles just like everyone else, but we're still on twelve years strong now. We got pregnant with our first child, a son, just six months after our wedding. Nathan arrived in the summer of 2005, and his brother, Matthew, followed in the summer of 2007. Two cats and a dog complete our little family.

I make up new words, you should know. Well, I don't so much create new words, I more or less combine existing words (synonyms, mostly) to form new words (primarily adjectives). It's so easy and fun! And, beware: they can be catchy.

I LOVE mini's. Like, the miniature version of just about anything --- toiletries, notebooks, candies, juices, spoons, cups, cards, literally anything that is a smaller version of the real thing. The exception here would be diamonds. And um, well... you know. And if you don't know, bless your innocent little heart.

I love music. Classic Rock, Alternative, Blues, Jazz, 80s hair bands. Country. We have music on at our house all.day.long. I prefer music to TV as background noise. I have dinner music, workout music, cleaning music, rainy day music and summertime music... I just love music.

Having said that, you should assume that if it's new, current or "now", I do not know about it. This applies to music, movies, books, fashion... pretty much anything aside from Reality TV. The awesome part? I don't give a tiny rat's ass. I don’t care if I’m “cool”. Because I’m 30 now. And I am sooooo cool.

Sun City Carnival

2009-03-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law was able to score me some bomb ass seats for Kenny Chesney's Sun City Carnival Tour, which will be here in Philly, this June, at Lincoln Financial Field. My friend Amanda is going to be joining me; she's probably the only person I know who realizes that country music is exactly where it's at.

Our seats are on the floor... like, Kenny Chesney will be right there and we'll be really close to him because we'll be right over here. *points all around*

WOOOOO-hooooo! I could not be more excited! Couldn't! Because, you see, Sugarland, my most favorite, is coming with Kenny. They're also bringing Montgomery Gentry, Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert along for the show. Duuuuuuuudes. It's gonna be cray-zee.

You can get your own tickets here. And you should.

Testing 1..2..3

2009-03-09T07:14:00.000-07:00