We Need A Little Christmas...

....in my case, I need Christmas overload. I llllllloooooovvvvveeee it all. :) I need to stop decorating the house....it's less than a week until Christmas, it's enough!

Monkey has enjoyed finding Cinnamon, his Elf on the Shelf, every morning. Unfortunately, it hasn't affected Monkey's attitude as much as I'd hoped. He's almost four, going on 13 or something. Auuuugh. However, if he manages to live until Christmas (I kid.........), I cannot WAIT to see him open his "Santa" present- a Batcave! It's kind of like the boy equivelent to a dollhouse- only with Batman, Robin, the whole gang. :) He saw a commercial for it on TV, and said, "I'm going to ask Santa for THAT!"....and this was after we'd already gotten it for him. Score!

Hubby's mama will be joining us for Christmas again from California...it will be nice to have her here. I'm not sure she will be too happy about the chilly weather- this will probably be the coldest weather she's ever experienced!

We will go to church on Christmas Eve for the candlelight service. It was one of my favorite things as a kid, and I'm excited to take Hubby and Monkey this year. And since I haven't spent a Christmas with my parents in five years, it will be even more special to be there with them. Christmas day will be spent at their house as well, opening presents and eating delicious food.

I've yet to watch It's A Wonderful Life OR Charlie Brown Christmas. I better get on it! :)

Wishing you a happy holiday, whatever you celebrate!!

Kids...I'm Alive

After the last post, I really hope no one thought I'd overdosed on Vitamin C to end it all.

Because I didn't. I'm right here and fine and dandy. Or, I'm right here. :)

Actually, my outlook is better. For one thing, we have finally MOVED into our own place!!! *happy dancing is involved here* I love my parents with every ounce of me (and trust, that's a LOT of ounces...a LOT), but Lordie, I'm too old to live with them. (more on being old in a moment)

So, we've moved, we've mostly unpacked, and life has continued on. A few other tidbits in my life:

- Because we've moved, I now have my own kitchen back (yayayayay!). I'm currently in pretend-I'm-Rachel-Ray mode, cooking every night and keeping the kitchen spotless. I worry that this is just a fad and I'll soon be ordering pizza in and eating it off of a paper plate. But. Let's not think about that.

- Football. It's back, baby. This year I'm only in one fantasy football league, and this past week I kicked Hubby's butt. Take that!

- It's the middle of September, and Montana is not cold yet. I am SHOCKED. And hopeful. And actually just the tiniest bit sad and worried that we won't get fall- that we'll stay hot until November and then have snow until April. *sigh*

- I. Love. Adele. I haven't stopped listening to her for at least a month.

- I have two friends that are having babies. I looove babies!

- Monkey's fish died. :( Actually, I think they died after the post I wrote about them (THAT'S what they were waiting for, those buggers!). He didn't really seem to understand, but he didn't get that upset, either (I cried. Seriously. Not really for the fish, but for Monkey. Who in turn...didn't care that much).

- Work has been non-stop. I'm not sure why. I'm tired of my phone ringing. I've been there since May, and while I love it, I really want a vacation.

And how have YOU all been?? :)

Scared.

I've been avoiding you, blog.

:(

Because I feel like I have nothing to say. Nothing good or of substance, anyway. My attitude towards life has been, let's just say, murky as of late.

And I feel like I can't talk about it. But isn't that what a blog is for? A small pie slice of the universe where you can dump all your feelings and thoughts, no matter how good or bad or scary or stupid they are- and then to not really worry about the judgement, because ya'll don't know me, and what's more, I don't know you!

I suppose it's because this place is no longer secret. People in my life know about it. So I feel like I need to wear my mask here, too.

Does anyone else do this?? Anyone else feel like life is just one big masquerade? I know we're all just supposed to be true to ourselves and BE ourselves and LOVE ourselves...but do you ever get so caught up in being everything for everyone else that you forget what it's even like to be YOU?

This morning I reblogged something on my Tumblr- a picture of a camera lens that had been turned into a coffee cup. And I wrote how I loved when one thing is used for a totally different thing. I do. I love that. And I don't think anyone knows that about me- mostly because I've never known that about myself until that picture came across my life.

See? It's paragraphs like that that I'm terrified of. If and when my mother reads that, she's going to think I'm insane. But why am I concerned? What's exactly wrong with being a little insane? I've just always been so worried about being perceived as "normal"- and I don't even know what that means. What is "normal"? And why do I so desperately want to be it?

A girl who drinks coffee out of a camera lenses sounds way cooler than whatever "normal" could possibly be.

Fishie Face

Remember that movie, My Girl? And the part she goes to the carnival and wins the goldfish?

That apparently happens in real life, too. :)

See, the county fair is going on here in our little town- and if you've ever been to or lived in a small western town, you'll know that county fairs are THE social event of pretty much the year. It's a little ridiculous. Anyway, we took Monkey yesterday for some good down home fun. We saw lots of exhibits, lots of cute animals (It took Monkey 15 minutes to pet a damn cow...he is scared of the most random things!), and Monkey rode lots of rides!

But the highlight was at the very end of our trip...we decided to play one game (to take Monkey's mind off the fact that we were indeed done with rides). The lady at the booth said we could get 30 balls for $5 and that she could "guarantee" us a goldfish.

You are familiar with this game, right?? Where you have to get the ping pong ball in the little glass vases filled with something that resembles Easter grass...it looks impossible. It really does. But guess what? My sporty three year old made one!

But here's the real kick. Sometime in the middle while he was throwing, his daddy handed me a ball and said, "Let's have Mommy try". I'm standing, I'm holding his balloon, and my phone from taking pictures, and not really even thinking about it. I toss the ball...and it goes right into a damn cup.

The goods, and the proud winner. :)

Are. You. Kidding.

So...now we have two goldfish. It's the next day and they are still alive. Amazing! After I invested 20 whole dollars in getting them a bowl and food and rocks and some fake grass to swim around, I assumed they'd die in a heartbeat. Maybe they're tougher than they look.

Maybe they're waiting until we name them. :) What, am I being negative???

One Day At A Time

If I was a basket case yesterday, then today I'm an effing picnic.

Seriously. Yesterday I was kind of hoping the world would just end so I could be done with everything. That's pretty low, especially for me, who thinks PUDDLES ARE MADE OF SUNSHINE. W.T.F.

Anyway. Today, I'm glad the world didn't end, I'm glad God ignored my begging to be struck with lightening, and I'm glad that I have another day to just...be.

I left work a bit early yesterday and went to see Grandpa at the cemetery. It was, strangely, just what I needed. I stood and sobbed and whispered things to him (well, I felt like an idiot talking out loud...I know that sounds insensitive, but I'm still new at this visiting-the-cemetery bit) and begging him to help me get through my shit. Which, knowing my grandfather, he probably was giving me some sort of Look that said, "girl, get your damn act together." And that's probably just what I need. Someone to shake me and say "GET A GRIP, BITCH!!"

I know this is all really confusing- because I haven't said exactly WHAT my deal is. Trust, I know. I know because I don't really understand what my deal is. I'm not sure if I'm having a quarter life crisis, or if I'm just stressed, or if I'm actually terribly unhappy with something. I don't know. Which, in turn, just freaks me out even more. I'm at the point where I'm watching out for the dudes in white jackets to come and escort me to my padded cell where I may forever be bouncing off the walls like a crazy person.

Maybe I need therapy. Maybe I need to blog more. Maybe I need a drink. Maybe I need to stop drinking. Maybe I need to make a change. A big change.

I.Don't.KNOW.

All I know is that today- I'm better than yesterday. Even though it probably doesn't sound like it. I am. So at least I've got that to work with.

There's good, there's bad...there's always ugly

Been awhile since I've blogged, eh? Sorry, kids.

Lots has been going on in this little brain of mine. Sometimes I'm surprised at how much thinking goes on in there! :)

First off...happy 200th post to me! And you. And...whomever else wants to be included. I feel like I should be doing something AMAZING for this post...like bake you all virtual cupcakes. :)

But...I did not. I know. What kind of crap blog am I running here?? Seriously.

At any rate, it's entry #200, and I'm still here...hopefully you are too. And if you are, thank you.

Today is Hubby's birthday. He is 37. Happy birthday darling.

Unfortunately, there's something else that is weighing heavy on my heart and mind today. :(

Three years ago today, my grandpa passed away. If you read this blog frequently, you know that Grandpa has a special place in my heart. If you haven't been privy to this news, you can read about it here. It's amazing how people leave our lives and leave such a hole. And in some ways, I feel closer to him now than I ever did when he was alive. I'm not sure how that works, if it works, if it even makes sense. I guess because I envision him occasionally looking down at me from his great fishing hole in the sky, making sure I'm doing okay. It's a thought that is both comforting and sad. Because all he can do is look. He's not here to hug me, he's not here to give me candy, he's not here to make that little chuckle he always did when he was mildly amused by his only granddaughter's crazy antics. He's not here to even look at me with confusion the way he did when his Alzheimer's kicked in.

My life is so different from when he was still with us. I look back now and sometimes feel like I've lost both him and myself. Sometimes I worry that he'll look down from his fishing hole in the sky and not be able to find me, because I'm so different. I worry so greatly even more that he can see me, but doesn't want to because what I am now isn't what he expected or hoped for me to be. Grandpa wanted only big, bright, amazing things for me.

I wonder if I let him down by just being another girl in the world.

Week In Photos

Today, I was going through the photos on my phone. In just the past week, I took a couple neat ones. And I thought, wow, I've captured a few really cool moments.

Okay, I know that sounds really corny, and what I'm about to say is going to sound even more so. But we go through the week- at least people like me, not people like my friend Molly who that saying flies by the seat of her pants was invented for- in the same routine. Get up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat. We forget that in the mundane repetitiveness, there are moments in time that make each day different, special, important. By me taking photos of random moments, I've reminded myself to be thankful.

And so, because of all this, I've decided that I'm going to try to pay attention to my weeks a little more. Find those moments worth capturing. I'm not a photographer, but I love life and want to remember every second of it.

Let's see week one of my new project, shall we?

I woke Monkey up early one morning this week to see this little guy.
He spent most of the early morning watching him instead of his
usual cartoons.

I was mesmerized by the sun and clouds. If you look closely on
the left, you see the silhouette of a certain little boy swinging. The
visual to me is cool- and also kind of eerie.

My mama's lilies are blooming, and they are the most
beautiful color I think I've ever seen on a flower.

The fireworks on "our" 4th- which we celebrated on the
2nd this year, since Hubby would be working on the actual 4th.
There's something about ooh-ing and ahh-ing about them together
that's really special.

It Gets Hot Here...Did You Know That?

I'm sitting on the porch at my parents house at 6 o'clock at night, and it's currently 90 degrees outside. Dang!

The extended weekend has thus far proved to be very successful. We had our big bbq yesterday- went off perfectly. The water balloons were a HUGE hit with the young people, the food was delish, the sun was out, and it was a happy day. I am so blessed and grateful to have such good people in my life.

While not the best picture, I think it kind of defines the kids on
the 4th. A whirlwind.

Today was less thrilling, although in my book it was still successful since I did as little as possible. :) Worked on my flip flop tan line (you guys, I'm suddenly OBSESSED with a flip-flop tan line. I think I might start a club or something), watched the Monkey play outside with his cousins that live next door, napped...I know, really difficult life. SO glad I have an extra day tomorrow to do something constructive (like, er, laundry. Meh.).



And how is YOUR Independence Weekend going? :)

Happy Happy

This weekend, my plans will include...

- going fireworks shopping with my two boys.

- yelling at Hubby to not kill himself (or anyone else) with said fireworks. (in his exact words, he can't wait to "blow shit up". I married a man-child. Then again, isn't that what they ALL are, on some level??)

- eating too many delicious foods.

- catching up with friends that I've known 90% of my lifetime.

-sunshine. I hope LOTS of it.

- an epic water balloon fight.

- patriotic jello shots.

- birthday cake.

-dinner at Mac Grill (am I the only one who loves it there??)

-sitting around the fire in the back yard- mayhaps cook a smore or two...

Happy Independence, lovebugs!

Take Me Out To the Ballgame...

We took Monkey to a baseball game last night, to watch our hometown minor league baseball team the Helena Brewers play. :) I'm not a diehard baseball fan-- I get bored with it pretty quickly-- but it was fun sitting in the sunshine with my boys and eating peanuts. The bestie was there-- she actually sang the National Anthem, and did an awwwwwesome job as per usual-- along with some of her fam and other friends. So that was fun too! It was a good way to kick off the first "official" summer weekend. :)

Any fun plans for you in store this weekend?

Summer. Finally.

The full moon from last week. This picture doesn't even begin
to show how breathtaking this twilight hour was.

Summer has been very tardy this year in Montana. Actually, Mother Nature was incredibly punctual about it, if you want to be technical. June 21st was our warmest day of the year thus far, and that was probably by a good 20 degrees. And since then its been just as lovely- although we had an afternoon thunderstorm today.

My parents' front yard.

Summer here is about as gorgeous as anything can get, assuming it treats us nicely. Right now I'm sitting on the porch, watching Monkey play in the driveway. There is not a breath of wind, and the air is cool after the storm, and is thick with the smell of my mother's lilacs and peonies in the front yard. Birds are chirping all around, the sky is blue and the grass is green. Everything is vibrant in color. It's a beautiful thing.

Pretty lilacs- dark purple and white. I love
the contrast they make.

My mother's gorgeous- and huge!- peonies.

Please help me remember all this when I'm freezing my tuckus off in the middle of the winter, okay?

The Attempt of a Normal Entry, Gone Awry

I do exist, I dooo...

Sorry, all. Life has been, yep, busy. Although I feel like that is a ridiculous excuse- as if I am the only busy person in the world, and everyone else who blogs isn't busy at all. Maybe everyone else is just better at blogging than I am. More...diligent, or something.

Anyway. We're all alive and well. Jobs are good, Monkey is good (wow, he's really good at being a Montana boy...he's ridden a horse, wants to be outside as much as possible, wants to be a cowboy, loves riding the four wheeler with his Papa...), and it's nice to be back with so many old friends.

Alright. I will talk about what I really want to talk about. Last night. My BFF had a little party at her house. But not just any party. A Pure Romance party.

Are you familiar with Pure Romance? For those of you who aren't, it's a company that sells...um..."sexy" items...in a Pampered Chef kinda way. You have a party, you invite your friends, the lady comes with all her fun merchandise and you gather around it and ooh and ahh. Although in this case there is a LOT more giggling and dirty joking. Especially in my crowd. :) But it's fun. And not all of it is dirty- they have lotion and body wash and lipgloss and massage oil and toys and lingerie and things I don't know what they do or why...

The best part? I went with my mother. MY MOTHER. I realize that for some people in the world, that sounds like torture. And I won't lie, there were moments I glanced over and poor Mom was holding something looking at it like, "WHAT IS THIS!?" and I thought, oooh, boy, what have I done!? But guess what? Mom. Had. A. BLAST. Because here's the thing: so maybe Mom isn't that kinky (neither am I, just to be clear), but it was a night out for her. It was something different. Usually she sits at home and reads her book. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with that. But not this night. This night she went to a party and laughed more than she had in a long time and drank a little too much wine (and TWO jello shots...she's a wild woman!!!) and ordered a heart-shaped massager (it is a pack filled with wax and other stuff that gets really hot...and it feels amazing. I ordered one too and cannot wait to have Hub massage my back. He's so lucky!).

So. This entry took a turn for the scandalous, didn't it? :) To be fair, I warned you with the title. So don't think less of me. :)

Guess What? I'm Still Here!!

That's right, I'm still here. Well, now I'm there. Wait, what?

Let me start again.

As previously mentioned, we moved back to my hometown, Helena, MT. It's been interesting being back. Hubby is actually adjusting pretty well. It helps that his job is going pretty well- they gave him a raise after his first two weeks for fear of losing him, I mean seriously! Awesome. We did have one freak blizzard a couple weeks ago- we got about 6-7 inches of snow in maybe two hours. Hubby was kind of in shock over that. Monkey, of course, loved it. We all went out and played with him in it- throwing snowballs, running through the snow, and making snow angels. It was like being a kid again.

Now, it's finally warming up. Spring took longer than usual to get here, but it's here now.Tthings are starting to bloom, grass is getting green, sun is shining- all the signs are here. :)

I just started a job at a hotel, in accounting- it's like deja vu, since that's what I was doing in Florida. So far, I love it- the people seem great, the job is fine (I'm still learning of course, and I'm eager to be in the know more!), and I'm just glad to have found a job. Whew!

So, now I'm back to being a Montana girl. I miss Florida, I miss the weather (well, not the humidity), I miss all the fun things to do, I miss the beach...*sigh* But, for now I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. And maybe someday, hopefully soon, I can come visit my Sunshine State again. :)

Flower and Garden

Just a few shots from the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT. It is definitely one of my favorite times at Disney. Everything is just so incredibly gorgeous.




Monkey really liked Tigger! (I really liked his catalog pose...what a goof)

This was in America. Very cute- it was an actual garden w/ lettuce, corn, and other veggies growing. :)

I haven't seen Tangled yet, but I thought this little tower was adorable.

This is probably my favorite part. I just stare at all the bright colors. I'm like a child, I know. :)

So cute! One of my top favorite Disney classics.

The flowers in England. I just loved all the little gardens throughout the park. Again, pretty colors!

I don't care how nerdy or touristy it makes me, I will miss Disney terribly when I'm back in Montana. I guess I'll just have to go to Yellowstone and Glacier to get my "park" fix. :)

Things to Look Forward To

There's always two sides of a coin, right?

While there's things to be missed here in Florida, there are just as many things to look forward to in my home town. Here are just a few...

1. Family. I will get to see my mom and dad all the time. When we first move, we'll be living at their house while we get settled. I'll get to see my mama anytime I want. I suppose eventually I'll move on from that fact and will want to have time with just me and the boys, but MAN. Right now I miss her so much that the idea of spending time with her on a daily basis makes me so joyful I get teary. Dad too. And watching my parents with Monkey is just indescribable. I want him to be my dad's little buddy, my mom's little helper. I want Sunday dinners and holidays together and Saturday morning breakfast...everyone will be REAL sick of me REAL soon. :)

2. Childhood friends. I was born and raised in the same town, in the same house my entire childhood. I only switched schools when I went on to middle and then high school. Until I moved, I knew the same people since kindergarten. One guy I have been friends with since preschool- since we were 3 years old! That is how old Monkey is now. That's wild to me. While I do have some nerves about going back (will everyone expect me to be the same person? Will people even want to bother with the girl that left almost 5 years ago? Will people be the same as I remember?), I cannot WAIT to go back to a townful of friends.

3. Food. Okay, so you would think that by living in Orlando, I would be in some sort of foodie mecca. And I am, I totally am. We have some of the greatest restaurants here, and I will definitely miss them. And while Helena isn't widely known for its culinary cuisine, there are a few damn good places to eat in town. My top three I'm excited for? Benny's (soup, salad, and sandwich place...everything is fresh and amazing. And the best iced tea ever!), Staggering Ox (recognized by Maxim as one of the best sandwich shops in America. It's also a fun and funky atmosphere), and the Sud's Hut (a tacky little bar with the best fried chicken and jo jos on the planet). Yummmm...

4. Summer. While I am NOT looking forward to the winter one bit (I'm working on a plan where I can just hibernate...), I am looking forward to their near perfect summers. Summers in Florida are brutal. They are so hot and humid that I feel entirely worthless from May until mid-September. Sure, the rest of the year is great, but I'm really excited about pretty, pleasant summers.


5. Fall. It's my favorite season. The leaves changing and falling, that first day that has that crisp feeling in the air...we don't get that here in FL. We don't really get season changes in general. I suppose that is what I am looking forward to. It will be nice that Christmas will look like Christmas (I mean, I had to go to Disney-Hollywood Studios to watch their fake snow fall in order to realize it WAS Christmas), that Easter will actually feel like renewal with Spring coming along, and with the kids wearing their snowsuits under their Halloween costumes. The way God meant for it to be! :)

6. No sales tax. Okay, so they make up for it with income tax (boo), BUT it will be nice to look at a menu and see a price and know THAT IS WHAT YOUR BILL WILL BE.

7. Jobs. The job I've had here for the last 3ish years has been...interesting. We don't get breaks (and then also get glared at if we take two minutes to chat amongst ourselves...), we only get a half hour for lunch, and while we clock out for it, we aren't allowed to leave property. There are a lot of little things like that to make it feel like military school instead of just work. They stalk your every move. I never had a job that did that before I moved here. It will be nice to be back in a place where they knew you are responsible enough to take lunch on your own. And if you aren't, they fire you. Simple as that.

8. A safe place for Monkey. So he's only three and he has a little time before he starts going to school, but that is one of my hopes, is that we do like it there enough to stay, and give him a safe place to grow up. While it is a little sheltered from the world, I know that it will be good for him in so many other ways. And just because he grows up in a small place doesn't mean he has to stay there forever. Look at his mama, who left to see what was out here. :) My motto has always been, MT will always be there. If I want, I can always go back. But I won't always have the chance to get out and see things for myself. I hope the same for him.


It is a wise mother that gives her child roots and wings. ~Chinese Proverb

Things To Be Missed

While moving is a grand adventure, and in my heart I do think it is the right thing for my little family, that doesn't make it entirely easy. There are things I will miss from Orlando, FL. Here are a few:

1. The Orlando Magic. They have been the only team to ever get me into basketball. As I type right now, I'm watching them on TV. I will forever consider them my hometown team, and I will forever BE MAGIC.

2. Walt Disney World. The reason I ever came to this crazy town to begin with. If I look at it that way, I owe Disney World everything. But simply, they provided me with a job, with meeting incredible and crazy people, with more memories than I could ever scrapbook. I will miss using my annual pass to walk in anytime I like as if I own the place. :)

3. The balmy winter weather. Okay, so really, it has been pretty chilly the past two winters. I mean, it even got down to like 29 last year. Ew! But compared to where we're going- Helena, MT- it is definitely balmy. And I will miss that very very much.

4. The beach. So it is still a drive from where I am right now, but only about a half an hour. Soon it will be a two day drive away. And even then it won't be a warm beach!! I am hoping to squeeze in one last beach trip before the move.

5. The little lizards. If you've ever been to FL, you know we have little lizards all over the darn place. My first few visits to FL I thought it really strange, but now I'm used to them. I think they are so cute. Just don't try to catch one by their tail- I tried that with one in my bedroom once and...well...it didn't end well. The lizard kept going and the tail stayed behind. :(

6. The gorgeous, beautiful, lush landscaping. Everywhere. I love the palm trees, I love the flowers, I love the bushes. It's all so pretty.

7. The smell of orange blossoms. They deserve their own number because they smell THAT good. Even though the scent only lasts a week or two, it is the most amazing smell that I will forever hold in my heart. And I don't care how silly that sounds!

8. The year-round Farmer's Markets. Not only do they have them year around, but there are multiple ones, with amazing produce. Helena has one, in the summer, and it's hit or miss.

9. The lack of ice on the roads. I mean, really. I hate driving in the snow/ice. I'm not sure how I'm going to go back to it. I think I'm kind of hoping that it will either never be icy on the roads ever again, OR I will be able to hibernate and not have to drive between November and March. :) A girl can hope, right???

Bitter...sweet

First, can I just say that bittersweet is one of my favorite words? When I was a kid I thought it was a type of food. (I know...ridiculous. That's me!)

Anyway, today I started taking apart and picking up my office. The lady who is replacing me will start on Wednesday, so I need to get things organized for her. It was a little sad taking all my pictures off my bulletin board and packing up all my little knick-knacks off my desk (I did not realize how much crap I have!!!). Until my last day of work, the 25th, I will work in a different office.

It is almost as though I no longer have a place, you know? While I know its just business, and of course they need to replace me, it's as if I never existed. It's that simple. I leave, someone else comes in, that's that. Soon no one will remember me- soon they'll be chatting and say,"Oh, yeah, who was in that office then? What was her name? Samantha? Stacey? Something like that."

Many of the people I work with have been there for five, ten, fifteen PLUS years. One lady has been there since the resort opened in 1984. She's worked there as long as I have been alive. So to them, my measely four years there isn't much. But to me? It's been four years of my life. Nearly the entire time that I've lived in Florida I've worked there. It was where I met my husband. It was where I waved at Chevy Chase and took Dave Matthews' breakfast order over the phone and made Tiger's bagel. It was where I tasted raspberry rose water sorbet and learned what wine glass goes with which wine. It was where I made my car payment in tips in one rainy night after everyone else called in. I did a lot of growing up there.

And now...it's time to move on. You need to know when that time is, and you need to bow out gracefully.

ESPN the Weekend

Today, the boys and I ventured over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for ESPN the Weekend. It goes unsaid that Hubby is a sports guru. I like sports, and I probably know a bit more than some girls, but my knowledge is not impressive by any means. :) Still, it was fun.



They had opened a gate to back stage, where they had set up tons of games and sports stations. Professional athletes were there shooting hoops, tossing footballs, swinging golf clubs, signing autographs.




Monkey is madly in love with basketball, so that was his favorite. It warmed my heart watching my boys- my two kids, haha- running from station to station.


Mama, in the meantime, took pictures and ended up with a sunburn. :( The clouds tricked me!!!

Time To Turn the Page

Well, friends, it is time for the next chapter of my life.

Hubby and I have decided to move back to my hometown: Helena, MT. (Look it up-- no one knows where MT is...it's okay.)

It will be interesting to say the least. For one, he and I have lived in Florida for five years and have grown VERY accustomed to the balmy weather. For another- Mr. City Boy has never lived in a very small town. Okay, Helena is just small- not very small. :) Still, it's going to take a lot of adjusting. I hope he can handle it. But I think it will be good- we'll have a good support system (my parents live there, my childhood friends live there, etc), AND we'll be closer to California than we are now (that's where Hubby's mom lives). So...everyone wins. Kind of. :)

Let's just hope Monkey doesn't get lost in the snow. :)

Belated: What Love Is

Me (to Hubby, in the car on the way home Sunday evening): Soooo...are you going to watch the Grammys with me tonight?? (insert adorable/charming/convincing face here)

*Long pause....................I mean, really long.....like 30 full seconds, which is a long time for three people in a car, one of them being a toddler who never shuts up...........seriously, he talks in his sleep even.....I mean, what does a three year old have to say that is THAT important at two AM?.........*

Monkey (from the back seat): Nope!


Sometimes love is simply having two televisions in the house. :)

Random Ramblings

- Nutella. I've never had it, and kept recently seeing commercials for it, so I picked a jar up this weekend. Holy divine-ness. It's delish on toast!! My new favorite quickie breakie.

-Potty training: kind of the nightmare I expected it to be, and not as bad as I thought all rolled into one. Mostly it's just a lot of laundry.

- Queso dip really ought to be a food group of it's own. And it should be the biggest one. YUUUMMM...

- Kids are spoiled these days. I had to force Monkey to watch The Land Before Time. Once it was on he was hooked, but my GOSH the second he saw the cover and that it wasn't a Pixar computer animated film, he dismissed it. Children. I also forced him to watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit- and he was even MORE glued. As if Mama doesn't know best...

- Zac Brown Band. Kind of in love. Their new CD, You Get What You Give, is the first CD I've bought in over a year.

- I was disappointed in the Super Bowl ads this year. And the BEP's, although I was just relieved that we didn't have to suffer through another band of 60+ year olds in leather pant gyrating and trying to sing. Yikes. Perhaps since Fergie did not have any wardrobe malfunctions this year we can stop being punished for the Janet Catastrophe (was that OUR faults???).

- I am getting soooo burned out from life. Something needs to change, and soon.

Birthday, Belated.

Who's birthday?

Well, mine, darlings.

I turned 27 on January 2. Twenty-freaking-seven. I had the smallest of panic attacks- the BFF called it a quarter life crisis- but I've sort of bounced back. Sort of meaning I'm not pouting and crying at random anymore. Much. Whatever.

I never thought I'd be the person who gave a hoot about my age. And I thought that if I ever did become that person, I could at least wait until 40 or something. 40 is a respectable age to have a crisis. 27...not so much. It kind of makes me feel like a total wuss.

On the other hand, my ten year high school reunion is in a year. A YEAR. I still remember being a freshman at my first pep rally, thinking there was no way in hell that I'd ever make it to graduation. I'm not ready to realize that that little freshman girl I once was is only a distant memory.

But, anyway. Enough of that depressing nonsense. This was the second annual ice cream breakfast that Monkey and I shared on my birthday. Of all traditions we've started, this is definitely my favorite.


We went to Ghirardelli at Downtown Disney, just like last year. We even sat at the same table. Landon- who was roaring through his terrible twos and just about to zoom on into his terrible threes- actually behaved like an angel. Afterwards, we wandered through the stores, and rode the carousel. All in all, a dream morning for a freshly 27 year old gal. :)

Where Have I Been???

...Well, I dunno.

Here's the thing. I haven't written in over a month. Okay, so it was probably the busiest time of the year for me (well, people in general, but me especially since we have Christmas, New Years, MY birthday, Monkey's birthday...for some reason it seems to take over a month to get that all done!). But still. My last post was about a cheesecake I only vaguely remember.

I'm pretty sure it was darn tasty, though.

Anyway. I am alive, I am here...I guess I just haven't felt the fire to write lately. Because I have a million things to write about- Christmas (I got a KINDLE and it amazing- oh, and I made kick ass red velvet whoopie pies w/ candy cane frosting...) birthdays (I am 27 and Monkey's 3 and neither of us acts our age), work drama (If I wasn't a mom I'd probably walk out and go live on the beach), the summer vacay we have planned (to my HOME town!!!)...

And yet. I haven't written in over a month. But I am going to try to start back up again. I promise! This is just a taste of what is to come. From now on, 2011 will be my best blogging year ever!!!

((Is that just setting myself up for failure?? Oh boy...))