A Big Pot of Randomness

Oh, it's Tuesday again! You know what that means...it is time for


**We are now living without a microwave. The one we had was about 15 years old and worked whenever the planets aligned just right. So, after we went for 1 week without using it, we tossed it and have no plans of replacing it.

**I love the way babies sleep. They are so precious.

**My 7-year-old's favorite meal is buffalo steak with broccoli and a baked potato.

**Two weeks from tomorrow my sons will set off on an adventure to visit grandparents without me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without them around but I can bet the silence will be thoroughly enjoyed.

**I went to Target today! YAY!

**Tonight I'm going to try a new recipe for chocolate loaf cake.

**The above mentioned cake is going to totally blow my diet, but it just looks so danged yummy.

**I'm not sure why, but I am exhausted today.

**Phineas and Ferb is one of the funniest cartoons I've seen in a long time.

**The guy that lives across the street has spent the last 3 days trying to replace his brakes. Scary! I'm not sure why he didn't just take the car to the shop. He obviously had no clue what he was doing. I'm all for learning new things, but brakes?!

**I went to my final postpartum check-up today and my awesome NP gave me a year's worth of refills on my vitamins. She also wasn't running 40 minutes behind like normal, woo hoo!

**Because of my diet, I haven't had a Dr. Pepper or a Mt. Dew in over a week now. I kinda miss them but not enough to guzzle a diet version of either. Diet Coke is good, but Diet DP and Diet MD kinda sorta suck.

**The hubby is having eye surgery on Monday. I'm totally jealous that he'll be able to see without glasses or contacts!

And there it is, my big pot of randomness for the week. Have a great Tuesday people!

Dieting Dos and Don'ts

I, like so many others I know, am attempting to lose a few pounds. During my recent pregnancy I gained *gasp* 60 pounds. (Yeah, yeah, insert fat joke here. But I'll remind you that Kate Hudson gained that much and she's a freakin' stick figure these days, so ha...) Anyhoo, the first 25 pounds just kind of fell off after I got home, but those remaining pounds are holding tight to whatever they can find and I'm getting a bit irritated about it. So, I am buckling down and committing to kicking those pounds out of my life. Because I know so many others who are currently fighting the battle of the bulge, I thought my little list of do's and don'ts would be appreciated :)

DO:
*Get mad at the fat lurking around your body
*Make a plan and stick to it
*Realize that you aren't perfect and will slip on occasion
*Tell someone that will ride your ass about your diet/exercise plan

DON'T:
*Eat ice cream for breakfast, even if you tell yourself that you have all day to burn it off
*Weigh yourself before you've done the two Ps: pee and pump....Ok, pumping (or nursing) only applies to those of us with active mammory glands
*Weigh yourself after 8 pm because you weigh more at night
*Give up!

Yep, so there is my diet/exercise advice. That'll be $150. (What a good nutrionist would charge you an arm and a leg for that advice...but I guess that is one way of losing some weight...not a smart one in my opinion but nevertheless...)

More Pie!!

Who doesn't love pie?! I love making pies in the summer because they don't require me to make pie crusts (an activity at which I suck) and they don't require me to turn on the oven. Plus, lately they have become a fabulous use for the five bricks of cream cheese sitting in my fridge reminding me that the hubby really is never going to get around to that cheesecake he promised me....anyhoo, here is a great recipe that I found in the last issue of the Kraft food & family magazine. The original recipe can be found here, but I made a few modifications to mine and it turned out well.

Peanut Butter Swirl Pie

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups Cool Whip
1 Oreo pie crust
1/3 cup chocolate syrup

Beat cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter in a large bowl until blended. Gently stir in Cool Whip. Spoon into the crust and drizzle chocolate syrup on top. Swirl with a knife. Refrigerate for 4 hours. (Or hurry it along in the freezer if--like me--you just can't wait 4 hours for the deliciousness!)

The Day After Monday

Oh yeah, it is Tuesday again! That means that it is officially time for another installment of Random Thoughts Tuesday...

**The boys' room is STILL clean! I am amazed and very proud.

**As I get older, I have realized that having stuff isn't all that great. You have to clean stuff and I'm sick of cleaning!

**It is perfectly normal for breast milk to have a blue tint to it. It is also perfectly normal for breastfed babies to have green poop or no poop at all for days at a time.

**I haven't mentioned my crock pot in a while, so a big shout out to my crock pot!

**I still haven't figured out what I did to piss of the tomato plant gods, but they seem to still be pissed. Last night, the puppy chewed the roots off of one plant. Nice, huh?!

**My kids never find it necessary to speak to me unless I am on the phone or trying to have a conversation with another adult type person.

**The speed limit on our street is 15 MPH. Apparently, most people are taking that as a suggestion because it is a rare occasion when someone actually obeys it. Obeying the speed limit on our street will get you rear-ended or, at the very least, some really nasty looks from people. I say bring it on, I've got good insurance!

**I miss the dry heat of El Paso!

**Oldest kiddo needs a button sewn on to a pair of shorts. I have been moving the shorts around the house for a week now trying to find a spot that I will remember to sew on the button. Right now, the shorts are sitting on the end table in the living room.

**Tomorrow I'm going to post another summer pie recipe!

**I am so sad that Jon & Kate can't seem to make it work! I was so hoping that last night's announcement was going to be that they had decided to cancel their show and work on their marriage in private. Plus who else noticed that Kate seemed to be distraught over the break-up while Jon actually said that he was excited! What a jackass! I'm totally Team Kate on this one.

Okie dokie, hope you enjoyed today's randomness! Have a fabulous Tuesday! And for more randomness, check out the originator of RTT over at The Un Mom.

The Curse of the Tomato Plants

I am a good southern girl. I have always taken pride in this. Part of being a good southern girl is preparing to be a good southern granny. I am afraid I may be failing at this. Seriously, I may lose my pearls for this one! Part of being a good southern granny is the ability to grow tomatoes. For the life of me, I cannot grow a tomato plant. I used to be a horticulture major (way back in another life before I had kids), so I know a thing or two about plants. But when it comes to tomatoes, I am cursed. Last year, the plants got aphids and in my attempt to kill the stupid suckers, the plants ended up with burnt leaves and never fully recovered. This year, I haven't even gotten the stupid plants in the pots and they are already showing signs of death. I have no idea why! I would apologize to the tomato plant gods, but I'm not sure what I did to offend them. However, until I can figure this out, I will be buying tomatoes and pretending that I grew them. I just hope no one asks to see the plant they came off of...

Stupid cursed tomato plants!!

Fragile, Handle with Care

Well, I had planned to blog about how I am cursed when it comes to growing tomatoes (and I still will at some point) but I have something that seems a little more important. This afternoon, my mom called to tell me that a man we know was killed in a car wreck late last night. He wasn't anyone that was a close friend of the family or anything like that, but we have known him for a number of years. He and his wife were out of state, we're guessing from where they were that maybe they were going to see the Razorbacks play today. They were making a turn and were hit by a truck. The tragic news just reminded me of how fragile and fleeting life really is. I think that we get so caught up in our day to day routines that sometimes we forget to slow down and enjoy life. When it comes down to it, which is more important: spending hours not talking to your significant other in order to prove that you were right about something or just getting over it and spending those hours enjoying one another's company? Making your kids spend hours cleaning their rooms or taking a few minutes to help them and then playing outside with them? At the end of my life, I guarantee I'm not going to say "Gee, I wish I'd spent more time cleaning" or "Gosh, if only I'd worked more". And I hope that I'm not left saying "I really wish I hadn't missed so much with my kids". In all honesty, I think we'd all be a little better off if we kept in mind just how fragile life is. We have never been promised tomorrow, but we do have today. So take some time and enjoy it. I promise, it's worth every minute!

(And I promise, my rant about those cursed tomato plants is coming soon!)

Pie!

As I mentioned in last week's RTT, I love summer pies! To me, a summer pie is one that has light, fluffy ingredients and is cool and refreshing. I've had pies on the mind. I have a couple of recipes that I love. They are super easy to make. So, I figured if I was going to be talking about pie, I should probably share a recipe.

Easy Margarita Pie
(got this a few years ago from the Jello display at the store)

2/3 cup boiling water
1 pkg (4 serving size) Margarita Flavor Jello
Ice
1/2 cup cold water
8 0z tub Cool Whip
1 Graham Cracker Crust

Stir boiling water into dry Jello mix in a large bowl until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 1 cup. Add to Jello and stir until slightly thickened. Add cool whip. Stir with whisk until well-blended. Refrigerate 15-20 minutes or until mixture is very thick and will mound. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate at leasta 4 hours before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can use any flavor of Jello you have on hand. It is fantastic and a crowd pleaser on a hot summer day. Enjoy!

RTT

It's Tuesday! You know what that means...time for more random thoughts!

**I love Tori & Dean! I also love watching 18 Kids and Counting. Other than that, reality shows really annoy me, but I always seem to get sucked in by them. Stupid shows!

**The boys and I cleaned their room this weekend. Now that we got rid of 5 trash bags full of crap, their room looks amazing.

**I'm having a yard sale this Saturday. Remember those 5 trash bags full of crap? Well, they aren't really full of crap, just stuff we don't need anymore so come buy it!

**I need to quit writing this blog and go workout before I have to leave to pick oldest kiddo up from his summer program.

**Speaking of oldest kid, he is getting his first pair of glasses today. He is just slightly nearsighted.

**On the topic of eyesight, the hubby is at his first consultation for eye surgery today. Before long, he will have near perfect eyesight and I'll still be blind as a bat. I'm happy that the Army pays for stuff like this because we couldn't afford it otherwise, but I'm still jealous. I have a couple of elective surgeries I'd like to have done and they have nothing to do with my eyesight. I would have no problem with being blind as a bat if I had my pre-3-kids stomach and boobs back!

**Bing commercials annoy the piss out of me.

Ok, I'm going to stop the randomness there because I really do need to get my workout done before I go get the kiddo. Have a great Tuesday!

Positive TV

These days you can't flip through the channels without coming across at least a dozen "reality" shows. I'll admit, I tend to watch them. The drama of America's Next Top Model and the various Housewives of Wherever shows fascinate me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a special fascination with the Duggar family.

At first, I thought these people were crazy for having so many children. I've even been brought to doing math to figure out just how crazy it is. For example, if all 18 of their children have 18 kids of their own, that comes out to 324 grandchildren for Jim Bob and Michelle. How are they going to keep up with all of them? But, lately I have realized that we might just be able to learn (or remember) some of life's more important lessons. The Duggars have very conservative values that many people don't adhere to. However, regardless of whether you share their same values or not, I can't help but be impressed by just how much they hold on to what they believe. So many people are wishy washy, but these people are a true example of standing up for what you believe in and not letting others sway you from that. I am also amazed by how non-judgemental the Duggars are. Yes, they live their lives in a very conservative manner, but they do not pass judgement on others who are more liberal. They also seem to be avid learners and always eager to soak up new knowledge. From watching their show, I am also reminded that children learn their behaviors from their parents. If you freak out about everything, that is the example set for your children. If you are kind to others and strive to do good for your community, your children will generally follow that example as well.

By no stretch of the imagination do I believe that this family is perfect, and from what is portrayed they do not believe that either. However, I do believe that they strive to always do the best they can and just wish to encourage others to do so as well. In a time when there is so much negativity and so many reality dramas on tv, it is refreshing to watch a family that truly loves one another and exudes such positivity.

What a Great Ride

Yesterday, the hubby and I celebrated our 8th anniversary! Very exciting! We didn't do anything special, just our normal everyday stuff. Jacob had a tball game, so that kind of took up most of the evening. He had team pictures before the game and there was about an hour in between. So, instead of going out to dinner, I made some sandwiches and packed some drinks, chips and fruit. After the pictures, we sat at a table near the playground and ate our dinner. I guess that was our version of a special dinner. Today I got to thinking about all we've gone through in the last 8 years and realized what a roller coaster ride it has been. One month and one day after we got married, I found out that we were expecting. Being young and poor, we decided that Martin would join the Army in order to get a steady paycheck and the medical benefits. The day he was set to ship out to basic training was September 11, 2001. I don't need to tell you what happened that day. So, the Army thing turned out far different than we planned but we've survived and wouldn't change it for the world. In our 8 years, we've been through 2 lengthy deployments not to mention countless field exercises. We've produced 3 beautiful children. I have moved 6 times. (Weird that the number of times I've moved might actually vary from how many the hubby has, huh? But such is the life...) I've attended two different colleges and am still working on getting my degree. Once or twice, we thought we might not make it. But, here we are! Eight years ago, in my youthful exuberence, I told the hubby that we were gonna be married for 80 years. It seemed like forever back then. Now, it doesn't seem like long enough. In this Army world that we have lived in for almost 8 years now, we've seen a lot of people get married. Many of them split up before the ink was dry on the marriage license. It is a sad reality. I am proud to say that we have made it. Being an Army wife is the hardest job in the Army, but I think it is by far the most rewarding. Plus, while I don't love the constant separations due to deployments and other stuff, I do love that we are pretty much always in that newlywed state of mind. We value our time together and always strive to make the most of it. So, our life together might not be exactly what I pictured when we were standing at the front of that chuch 8 years ago, but I wouldn't change a minute of it. It's been the greatest ride of my life. I'm buckled in and ready for whatever the next 72 years hold :)

Randomness and Stuff

Yay, it's Tuesday again! In celebration of that, here is some randomness...

**Today is my 8 year wedding anniversary...I got the hubby nothing...He doesn't need anything and we don't need more crap in this house.

**I hate how my puppy barks at stupid stuff. She's got that obnoxious little dog yip and it pisses me off every time I hear it. I know, my own fault for having a little dog.

**Note to self: don't forget to let the neighbor's cat out.

**Julia Roberts really doesn't look like Erin Brockovich at all.

**I love making summer pies with cool whip and other yummy ingredients. They are cool and cheap.

**Getting ready to go pick up the pictures for my dad's father's day gift....it is awesomely cute!

**I finally got my baby girl an appointment for her 2 month check-up. I can't believe she's 2 months already!! Time flies when you are sleep deprived.

**I'm taking a load of stuff to Goodwill and might do some shopping while there...does that defeat the purpose?

**Pretty sure that I have decided to get rid of the Blackberry and return to a normal phone.

And that wraps up Random Thoughts Tuesday. I'm off to enjoy my anniversary! Have a wonderful day!!

Bye-bye Blackberry?

Lately, I have been paying a lot more attention to how I spend our money. Who hasn't with the economy the way it is? I have noticed that the little things are adding up way too quickly for my liking. Eight years ago when we first got married, we very rarely spent money on the little things. We spent our money on the necessities. And, to be honest, we were a lot better off back then. (Geez, I wish I'd realized that back then!) So, anyways, I got to thinking about my blackberry and how much I pay for the plan that goes along with it. Every month, I pay $30 for the plan and I don't think I use it enough to justify that much. Yes, it is nice to get my email wherever I am. Yes, it is fun to be able to update MySpace on whatever I'm doing. But...is it really worth $30? So I bring this up to hubby (who came as close to jumping with joy as he will ever do when I mentioned saving money) and he says that he had been thinking about turning the internet plan on his phone off as well. We realized that we could save $45 every month just by doing these two things. Over the course of the year, that is more than $500! We both agreed that it sounds great. Plus, I have two perfectly good flippy phones, one of which I actually loved before the blackberry came along and stole it's thunder. So every day since this conversation, he comes home from work and asks me if I've made a decision. Yes, I have made a decision. I really do want to get rid of the blackberry and return to a normal phone because I don't honestly use the internet on my phone that often. But I have become accustomed to having that safety net there. Logically, I know that I survived for years without toting the internet around with me and I can do it again. But for some reason, I just can't bring myself to actually call the cell phone people and cancel the plan. I also am having this same problem with calling the cable company to cancel our subscription to HBO. We don't even watch HBO! It came as part of our promo package when we first moved in last summer. I think the problem is that I don't want to upset anyone. Logically, I know that they could care less because they'll just sign up some other sucker. So, until I get over this odd, irrational thing I've got going on here, I'll continue to watch nearly $60 just fly out of my pocket every month. What exactly is wrong with me?!

Wednesday Again...It's Wacky

So, last week I decided that since this is my blog I am allowed to make up whatever I want and thus Wacky Wednesday was born. Today's installment deals with some comments recently made by oldest kid (who is 7).

Last week, while he was eating a piece of candy he asked me if I had eaten a lot of candy while I was pregnant with him. I answered no and he continued to say he figured I had because he likes candy. Then he informed me that he was going to feed his wife lots of candy when she was pregnant so his kid will like candy.

He also informed me that his life's ambition is to be a pizza delivery man. I'm so proud.

I told him that we were going to deep clean his room this summer because it is a disaster area (seriously, I think I hear the governor checking it out in a helicopter). He responds, "Mom, can't you do that while I'm at summer program. It's always easier for you to clean stuff when I'm not here." That kid listens to his father way too much.

I love the kiddo and all his wackiness

Randomness All Around

Hurray for Tuesday! Over the last few weeks, I have found myself looking forward to RTT because I have an actual excuse to be completely random. Here goes the randomness for today:

**My poor baby girl has a bit of a cold and I hate it. I have to use that little nose-sucker-thingy on her and it makes me feel horrible.

**Free lunch for kiddos during the summer is awesome!

**Need to get the oil changed in my Jeep but refuse to wait for hours in order to do so.

**I am a very curious person. This curiosity extends into everything from the academic world right down to what you are doing in your life. I can't help it.

**Right now I'm thinking of starting another blog all about being cheap (in the best possible way, of course).

**Martha is making cupcakes and it is making me super hungry but I got this new evil scale yesterday and I'm sure it won't appreciate me having a cupcake.

**Gave oldest kid a summer project...use our old digital camera and photograph whatever strikes his fancy...yesterday was day one of said project and he took over 50 pics.

**Neighbors went on a cruise this week....color me jealous.

**What the heck is a bakugan? My kids are obsessed with this things.

**This episode of Martha makes me want to open my own bakery, but I'm too realistic to actually do something like that.

**I should be cleaning my house...maybe I'll just get rid of everything and then I won't have to clean.

**I found out late last week that the doctor who delivered my daughter a couple months ago is actually a cosmetic surgeon who happens to have some specialization in gynecology...hmm, interesting combo...

So there's today's installment of randomness, Enjoy :)

Free Lunch!!

Whoever said there was no such thing as a free lunch had apparently never been here during the summer. A few weeks ago I read in the post paper that the free lunch program for kids would begin 01 June. I thought to myself, "Self, that is pretty cool. Wonder where these free lunches are?" Later that afternoon, as if they had heard me talking to myself, the school sent home a flyer with the locations and times that said lunches would be handed out. I told the hubby about this program and he was skeptical. I really don't blame him. Very few things in this world of ours are truly free. But I remained positive. So, I checked the list for the playground location closest to us. Then today, I loaded the baby into her stroller, grabbed the oldest kiddo and we set off to explore this free lunch thing. We got there right as the lunch van was pulling up. This nice lady hopped out and started handing out bagged lunches and drinks to the starving children waiting in line. I have to say that it went really well. The lunch consisted of a crustables pb&j sandwich, chips, cucumber slices, an apple and choice of juice or milk. The best part?! It truly was completely free!! Oldest kiddo ate his lunch and enjoyed some playtime at the playground. As an added bonus, I got a little exercise. It was a great thing all around. We will definitely be making the trek up to the playground for free lunch everyday this summer because I'm cheap and totally into free meals!