Evolution of Dance

Happy New Year Everybody!!!!

Bittersweet Ending

I'm ready, or at least I thought I was ready. I'm ready to dismantle the tree, and put all the decorations away. I already put away my Christmas dishes so the ball is rolling. I feel somewhat refreshed and renewed this time of year. I'm ready to watch HGTV to get some new ideas, and I am ready to declutter, and unload a lot of items. This is the time that I love to spring clean. Tonight as I sit and peruse my first issue of Martha Stewart Living, I noticed that the cover consists mainly of whites and yellows. As refreshing as a fresh cut lemon. I'm ready.

And then I had to go look to see what was recorded on the DVR. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas. Suddenly I don't feel so eager to move on with things. It isn't even New Years yet and I'm suddenly so sad. I'm so sad that the culmunation leading up to that one glorious day is over. I'm so sad that once again it all has to come down for another three hundred and some odd days. I'm so sad that time is going by so fast and I feel like I'm stuck spinning in the wind. My children will never again be 8 and 6 at Christmas. I'm so sad that in the whirlwind of time, I never did get my Christmas cards out.

I thought I was ready. I really did... and I am, but I'm also sad too. It's a bittersweet ending.

HOB JOBS

"Mom" he declares, "I want the Ove Glove for hob jobs around the house". " Hob jobs around the house?" I question. "Yep. That way when I get older, I have the ove glove for hob jobs and I can make money".

Child B is so eloquent, and so matter of fact. Plus he has such a conscience. The other day while we were out, he said something he shouldn't have. Of course Child A was right there to point the finger. "MOM! He said the B word!". "What did you say Greg?" I asked sternly. And there it was... coming out of my precious childs mouth were the words, "Son of a B****". Immediately, Child A bursts into laughter. Of course, I do too, but don't want him to see me. I could NOT believe my child just said it AGAIN... even though I asked him to. I honestly thought he would say, "I said the B word". But NOPE... he said it and used it in a sentence too!

"If I EVER hear that word or any other bad word, come out of your mouth again, I PROMISE you that you will have soap in your mouth!" End of subject.

Shortly after we arrived home, the kids got ready for bed. I came out of the hallway, to find Greg sitting on the hearth of the fireplace, rocking back and forth, sobbing... holding onto a stuffed Santa. Quite alarmed and sympathetic I asked, "WHAT is wrong?" "I'm getting coal. I just know I'm getting coal. I said the MOTHER of all bad words and I feel so guilty". Speechless. I felt HORRIBLE for him in that very moment and realized how sensitive he is, and that he does indeed feel guilt. Horrendous, looming, elephant on your back, guilt. I reassured him that everyone makes mistakes, and that I was fairly sure he would NOT get coal for Christmas.

Never have I seen a child mind his P's and Q's as much as he did from that day forward... and Santa did NOT leave him coal. In fact, he made out quite well. Lucky boy.

Santa Baby...

Write an AFLAC check out for me... Puhlease...
I got injured playing the Wii... yippie...

Get a Wii for Christmas?

Make SURE the floor is clear when you are playing... and that there are NO toy helicopters for you to land on. Yep. Rotator blade... right into the bottom of my heel.

They don't call me Grace for nothin!

Whats in YOUR stocking???

The Snowman

Merry Christmas!!!

Hilarious Christmas Beer Commercial

Ok, lets try this again...

Pioneer Woman

PW on CNN today!

Hilarious Christmas Beer Commercial

OMG... I can't stop laughing...

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

Poll Time...

Inquiring minds want to know... do you like receiving Christmas letters in your cards? Today I opened up some of the most wonderful letters. From people that I haven't seen in YEARS!!! Wendi Gallagher... remember her? Great photo came from her along with the news of a new baby in March! And my cousin... his wife homeschools, and they lead a very interesting life. If their kids don't end up being nuclear physicists then something went haywire. They are into so much....

I am debating on doing a letter. There are a lot of people that have no idea what goes on here. But then I think of how boring it is here sometimes. zzzzzzzzzzz... But of course I could go through my blog archives over the past year and pull out the tidbits.

Your thoughts please... Oh and BTW... I'm a crafter. I LOVE paper and usually make my cards, but you know what... Hallmark won. I bought my cards last night because frankly my dear... I just don't have the time right now.

So vote now so I can figure out what to do, because if you know anything about me... I can't make a decision to save my life and by the time I make the decision... the time has run out.... as it did with what card I was going to "make" this year.

Steaming Hot Cup of....

The Starbucks Barista arrived on Monday. THANK YOU Mr. UPS man... for venturing down my knee high, snow covered street.

Since I bought this on Ebay, I was waiting to see what condition it arrived in, before I left feedback. I opened the box, and there it was - packaged better than anything I have EVER received on Ebay before. I pulled it out, set it on the counter, and started removing all of the utensils from the box.

I can't believe I own an espresso machine.

Because it was used once by the previous owner, I thought it necessary to thoroughly clean it, inside and out using Starbucks Descaler. It probably didn't need it, but I am not into other peoples funk.

Two days... It sat for 2 days as I walked by, looking at it.... stalking it.... intimidated by it. Ok, so one of those days I had to work.... but today... today was my day. I woke up with a date with the espresso machine. I bought all the fixings for a Caramel Macchiato or a Cinnamon Dolce Latte (which smells like a warm buttered cinnamon roll btw). Be advised that I drink 1% milk and most times, I get soy in my lattes, so I won't be porking out - more than I have. I have no intentions on making this a daily thing... but $4 per latte, 10x per month.... you do the math.

I followed the instructions and steamed the milk first. Note to self... buy earplugs. I got the milk to 160', then made my 2 shots of espresso. OMG... the color. The way it separated in the shot glasses. 3 PRECISE layers. 2 pumps o' Cinnamon Dolce into the cup. Next in when the shots. Then the milk. YUMMMMMMMMMMMY......

Then for kicks which I don't normally get on my latte's.... whipped cream BECAUSE PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING. As the whipped cream slowly sank down into my cup... it all came together. I could barely stand it. I took a sip.... mmmmmmm warm melty whipped cream..... WONDERFUL.... Morning coffee just got SO much better..... and then I tasted it.....

My VERY first, Homemade Latte.... that tasted EXACTLY LIKE........................HOT MILK -YUK

Next time.... I won't use such a tall cup. lol.

BTW... the kids were eating breakfast, getting ready for school and screwing around the entire time I was at ONE with the machine.

Lash Out...

I Adore These People...

My Mom & Dad

Photo taken 09-14-1996

I know the photo is old... but it is one of my favorites, because there aren't too many photos of the two of them together... at least I don't have that many (remember to change that...).

Today is Sunday. I spent yesterday with my sister, and the kids were with my parents, baking Christmas cookies. They spent the night there, and I spent the night at my sisters.

I woke up early, and went out into the blizzard to pick up my kids. It took me about 20 minutes to clear the 2 feet of snow from my car. The drive to their house was nerve wracking at best. I had atmospheric music on... Thanks to XM Radio Channel 77... to try and keep "breathing".

My parents live in Harrison Township. There is only one road leading to their house. They are sandwiched between Lake Saint Clair and Selfridge Air National Guard Base - which you see on the news frequently.

The road leading in drives next to the fence of SANG, and the Clinton River. When it snows, as it has today, the snow is blown across the airport runways (2 miles of FLAT LAND) and blows all over North River Road. I white knuckled the steering wheel the whole way there. This road winds and curves almost the entire way there. Taking a turn too fast and your car is sliding towards the river, or into oncoming traffic. Today, the road was cleared wide enough for 1 car to fit through... no mather if you were coming in or going out. By the time I reached their house, I was nearly hysterical. I went straight for the bathroom, so I could "let go" and have a quick breakdown. It was that horrendous of a drive... and I had to turn around and go back the other way... with kids.

My parents IMMEDIATELY knew I was a wreck. My mom made me take off my coat and stay. She made me pancakes, sausage and bacon and offered me coffee. Their house was the warmest and most welcoming I had felt in years. Exactly what I needed. As I sat at the table, my Dad came and sat next to me, and broke bread with me.

Shortly after... I was ready to try the journey again... only this time, I wasn't an emotional wreck. Because my parents gave me exactly what I needed. I don't think there is a word to describe what they gave me, but what it was.... it was priceless.

And that is only one small tiny thing out of a million things...

That I adore about my Mom and Dad.

I'm going to hurl....

Where do you put your purse???


This is true see http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/purse.asp

HANDBAGS...Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet floors then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot!It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress.Sometimes "what you don't know 'will' hurt you"!Read on...Mom got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been.Smart Mom!!!It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test - for bacteria - with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your handbag.Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day?"I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in toilets." "I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of the toilet," says another woman "and of course in my home which should be clean."We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake , and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag.Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if thei r handbags were at least a little bit dirty. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked.Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick.In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the handbags," says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbag s tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contamination's of all. "Some type of feces, or possibly vomit" says Amy.So the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop.Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops"- your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help.Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.THIS IS WORTH SHARING!!! AND MEN PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR WIVES, GIRLFRIENDS OR DAUGHTERS!

The Box of Rocks

Last week, I took Greg to the dealership with me, to get an oil change. As we are sitting in the waiting room, he is perusing the paper, looking for a map of Japan. The woman sitting across from us says, "He is reading the paper... he is a smart little boy". I told her that Mr. Man wants us to move to Japan, where he thinks he is joining the Japanese Army, so he is looking for a map. She chuckles. She talks to him for a moment and out of the blue comes....

My sister? She's... She's a box of rocks.

Everyone in the waiting room is now laughing. And many are laughing, trying to conceal their laughter. See, the night before, Emily - the queen of procrastination, was doing her math homework. And through the whole thing, she is verbally abusing herself, calling herself a box of rocks because she waited till the last moment to do her homework, and now that it is due the next day, she's struggling.

Box of rocks.... the statement still reverberates in my head.

More Templates...

You have all inspired me to kick it up a notch with my template... but I'm so bored with the blogger templates. So I've been working on it and have found some really cool stuff. So bear with me while I try to make the changes. I want it to be very cool, but at this moment, it is getting on my nerves!

I'm telling you... my nephews blog has turned into the total Jerry Springer show. I swear, in the time that he has been blogging, there are maybe 5 comments. Suddenly he posts about a childs death and the flood gates to the trailer parks have opened. It is shocking. The thing I don't understand is, all these people seemed to know this child and obviously her parents, yet they did nothing to prevent what happened. It doesn't make sense to me. But if they don't know this child and her parents... what are they going to do? Go commit homicide? These are some extreme people. I swear they are as guilty as the parents are if they chose to do nothing about this situation.

I think I'm going to quit reading his blog until he changes it. The tempers are flying and so is mine... dealing with this stupid template issue.

Schizo

No, I'm not schizo. If you've peered at my blog more than once today, you will see that I'm on my 3rd template. I'm working on it. I found a ton of new templates online, but of course they are difficult to download. So that is what is up with my blog. If you want a Jerry Springer show, go look at the comments on my nephews blog. Unbelievable.

In Mel's Boat

Wow, am I ever irritated... I am jumping on Melanie's boat and her rant about customer service. For 2 weeks now, I have been waiting for someone over at MarthaStewart.com to reply to my mutiple emails regarding my subscription. On top of that, I have 2 things I sold on Ebay (which I have NEVER had a problem with until now), in which I can not read any emails that I have received on Ebay.com I am waiting to see if something I purchased has been shipped, and can not see if the seller has replied. I wrote to Ebay twice as well.

Finally, I also have a Reward Zone card from Best Buy. On it you accrue points with your purchases and in return they send you checks. We've had this card for at least 2 1/2 years. Have we EVER received a check? NOPE. Not one... but we sure have dropped a lot of cash at Best Buy. So again... I fired off an email to their customer service.

I have a feeling I'm going to be making A LOT of phone calls this week...

Now that I've sucked the life out of you, look over to my nephews blog. You will find a link on the side. Look for Navy Bound Nephew.

Everybody's Doing It!

Merry Christmas!

Click the link, wait a few, then enjoy!

Cuz I'm Crazy Like That....

Grande, 2 pump Ginger Bread Latte w/soy, no foam.

Yep. That's my call sign.

I am back in the saddle again. My headaches are somewhat cured. Well they were, until some virus has invaded my sinuses. The left side of my face is suffocating me.

Rest assured that I am NOT turning into a whine bag, I'm just having an issue and need a tissue.

Soooo, I decided NOT go get a Keurig, OR a Tassimo. Nope. I decided to go for the big guns...

Introducing the Starbucks Barista!

Yep. That is what I got. Because 1. Starbucks clearanced them out and I was lucky enough to find one! So now I can make my latte's for a song compared to the $4.45 that Starbucks charges. PLUS I don't have to go out in the cold to get one. SWEET!

I'm sorry Katrina and Janet. I just can't do it. I just can NOT give up my coffee. My passion runs deep for a good cup o' joe.

Now I'll just have to train my brother how to make my latte's when he comes to visit. Because he IS my coffee Biaaaatch, lol.

Go Fish!

Pretzel Sticks, Gold Fish, and Cream Cheese.

1. Pick up pretzel stick.
2. Dip in cream cheese.

3. Fish for a gold fish.
4. Make sure it sticks!
5. Enjoy!

Kids LOVE this snack. Especially in he classroom. Costco sells cream cheese in the little cups. It is quite tasty too.

Hockey Playing Hooligan

This FUR CHILD needs to STOP playing hockey with the little gifts Child A put under the tree!!!

Notice the undercarriage on this feline... who seems to have an eating disorder.

OMG it's Monday

And I haven't posted since Wednesday. I realized last night that not only have I not posted, but I am WAY behind on reading all of your blogs.... except Mel's in which I have read, reread, and reread again... because she doesn't love us any more. ;o) Just kidding Mel.

Tiffany VS. Debbie Gibson or both?

As I am in my whirlwind of house cleaning, Tiffany came on the radio. I started thinking... as I was dusting... I loved Tiffany, but didn't care for Debbie Gibson. Yet Den liked Debbie Gibson, but didn't care for Tiffany. See where I'm going with this?

Inquiring minds want to know.... Did you like Tiffany better or Debbie Gibson. OR did you like both of them equally the same.

I'm going to post a poll up on the right side for a week. Let's see who wins this one.