Saturday, August 28, 2010

Desire disabling 'word verification' on your blog?

I detest required 'word verification' on comments. I ♥ leaving comments on blogs. But the majority of the time, I type my comment, then type in the word required, click "post comment", have to wait, scroll down to find my comment again, make sure it's accurate & then click "post comment" again. Depending on the number of comments already posted by others, this can be time consuming. Word verification for commenters is just flat out a pain in the arse. That said, every time I disabled mine, I got spammed ridiculously! In order to prevent spamming, I assumed I had to have word verification enabled.

So you remember Melissa. You know, I just adore her & her blog. And her very sweet personality. She gave me the solution to disabling word verification & not getting spammed! Yippee! Immediately I followed her instructions & let me tell you - I no longer have word verification enabled (yippee again!) & I get spammed none. Not one time since I implemented the changes. Woot! Ü

Here's what you do:

1.) On your dashboard, click on 'Settings'.
2.) Choose 'Comments'.
3.) Under 'Who Can Comment?', choose option: 'Registered Users - includes OpenID'.
4.) Under 'Show word verification for comments?', choose option: 'No'.
5.) Click 'Save Settings'.

Tada! Disabling Word Verification might just get you some more comments! Then again, maybe not. But those who do comment, will very much appreciate you removing this one extra step. Happy quicker commenting! :)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Paint crystals & Goodwill.

When Jaguar & I went to Lowe's a few weeks ago to get paint samples, I happened upon these little jewels. Paint crystals! You add them to your paint before painting & voila! Your beautimous new paint has a beautimous shimmer! I love me some shimmer & so does my girl. Trying to decide if I want to use one pack or two. You know, for extra shimmery shimmer. ("Shimmery shimmer"? I dunno. Sounds good so I'll go with it. Teehee. :)

This morning I took Mercedes to the park & after that, we headed to Goodwill. Similar to my previous post, I know many people who regularly shop at Goodwill (or any thrift store). I've only been in ours one time & I was discouraged because it wasn't, you know, spotless. I know I know, it's a thrift store. So today I cowgirled up & gave it another shot. I was there over an hour. LOL ;o)

I wanted to browse their furniture because so many find good pieces & restore them. They had some decent pieces, but nothing struck my fancy. I did discover that Goodwill is the place to find movies & books! Oh heavens! That was impressive. I didn't find much in their 'home decor' section, but I did find this beauty:


Score! This puppy is like new & it was $2.00. Two dollars! Adorable & just perfect for Jag's room makeover. ♥

Hubby is currently on his flight home to Texas - busy weekend ahead for us. Time to get at it! Happy weekend! Ü

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Ross.

I have to tell you, I am not a fan of TJ Maxx, Marshall's or Ross. I've peeked in all of them, only to turn around & walk out. So many people I know love these stores. Me? Not so much. Not sure why.

One of my most favorite blogs, which belongs to an amazing & sweet girl, Melissa, shops frequently at Ross & finds the most adorable home decor. So today, off Mercedes & I went. Well-hello-Ross! I do believe I fell in love today. With Ross' home decor department. ♥

First off, we have the affectionate silhouette of a man & woman. Sweet! I think it is adorable. This will be placed in my informal formal living room. The colors in there are silverish-blue, browns & silver. I have a new shelf I need to hang & this little pretty will display perfectly on it.

Second, we have the wooden vases. These are "ecofriendly" spun bamboo & were made in Vietnam. So cool! :) My family room colors are greens, brick & browns. These will display nicely perched upon our mantel - however, I will be turning them upside down & use as candlesticks (I will not be using this color of candles). I know. My creativity is just never ending. Baha! :)

Lastly, we have the beautimous dress form jewlery holder, that will be placed in Jaguar's room to hold her little necklaces. As you know, I am in the process of redecorating her room in turquoise, deep red & pink. Scored her a rockin' turquoise/leopard comforter at Kohl's last weekend. I can't wait until her room is all pulled together, but it will take some time while final touches are completed. It's going to be a booger finding the curtains I am visualizing. :)

My husband is currently in California, so I'm busy busy! Just had to post & show you my new little finds! And now, back to business! Ü

Monday, August 23, 2010

Back to school!

Bentley. Dude. You look a little tense. Loosen up. It's only the 4th grade. :)

Jaguar. Is your backpack heavy with that one, empty folder that's inside? You look as if you are fixing to fall over backwards with your little belly sticking out. Don't lose your balance, girl! :)

Audi. My picture-perfect child. Every. Stinkin'. Time. You are too cute, but alas, I can no longer verbalize that. 'Cause you're turning into a demon. And you are entirely too young to possess such a quality in the 1st grade. :)

And off...he goes. ♥

And off...he goes. ♥


Jaguar, my darling girl. Got pink? Lookin' a bit like cotton candy, today. You chose to wear this - an outfit that represents a bubblegum soccer player - on your very first day ever of Kindergarten. Indeed I did try to encourage another really cute outfit. You promptly put me in my place - I can wear what I want on whatever days I want. Yes, you may. How dare I suggest otherwise. My bad. As long as you are clean, your clothes are clean & your attire is not inappropriate, you certainly may wear whatever you chose. I will support you 100%. My little Punky Brewster. :)

A little apprehensive, perhaps?

And off...she goes. ♥
Back to school! Fair well, my loves. ♥



*May I note, here, that these are the some of the worst photos I have ever taken. Blah! Reason 1 - I shot on automatic. Next time, I will take the time to shoot on manual & adjust my settings! 2 - I had my hat on. Oh Melissa. You can not shoot with a hat on! Stop it. :)

Saturday, August 21, 2010

My beautiful boy.

Love, love, love, love, love him. ♥

Swamped in back to school preparations. So, a photo of my adorable 9 year old is all I got.

Oh, & this:

Energizer bunny arrested. Charged with battery. Ü


*Snapshot.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Kidbits.

Me: Jaguar, do you think you have enough new clothes now to get you started at school?

Jaguar: Oh, no. I have to go many days.

Guess she thinks she's getting a new outfit for 180 days of school! Baha! Poor thing. Ü

Tonight at dinner at IHop -

Mercedes shouts: Mommy be quiet - I talkin'!

#1.) I wasn't speaking.
#2.) All of our neighboring tables heard.
#3.) Lots of snickering.

The girl scares me. She is unlike any of our other three at her age. She may be going to daycare. Soon. :)



Monday, August 16, 2010

Translator, please!

I received this email today:

你還在盲目的找尋未來的出路嗎?

免費給自己一個了解最新網路商機的運作模式
真心的邀請你與我共同努力

Now. As we all know, I have been blessed with many God given talents (baha!). But. Reading the above ain't one of them. ;o) I would like to point out, though, that I certainly do recognize the question mark. Yay me! :) Other than that, I hope this email isn't informing me that someone has blessed me with maid service for the entire week & they'll arrive at my home by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. 'Cause that would really suck.

Any takers? Ü

Parasailing.

I wanna go back.

Friday, August 13, 2010

School supplies.

School supplies for three little ones this year. Three. And for one year, this year, all three are in the same school. Ü

Seriously. Who writes a post about school supplies? Me! Why? Because for the last 4 years, our school district has literally been screwing us parents over, taking complete advantage. And I knew it! I knew it, yet I complied. And that makes me very, very angry. Not only with the district, but with myself, as well. I'm the type of person that when I do something I know in my heart I shouldn't, but I do it anyway, I get extremely angry with myself.

I hadn't printed all three separate school supplies list yet this year. Mainly because we were on vacation. However, I was already prepared for the nightmare that was fixing to embark. That said, I was shocked when I was at Walmart on Monday, browsing & picking up some pertinent school supplies that I know would be needed, when I spied a school supply list for our district. I couldn't believe my eyes. Holy. Pickles. For the 1st time in 5 years, there was one list. One list! A generic list, for all elementary schools in our district (typically, each school has their own. Could never figure that one out. We all didn't use the same supplies?), with each grade (K-4). The cherry on top? All information/supplies were listed on one single 8.5x11 piece of paper. So simple, easy to read, I thought I was going to keel over right there in Walmart.


This year, the amount of supplies required were cut in half. I knew we had been purchasing way more supplies than were needed. But I did it anyway (enter growl). Gone are the trips to what I call 'specialty stores'. I use that term because in previous years, numerous items could not be purchased at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc. Parents had to make unnecessary trips to Staples, Office Max, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc. Why? To purchase required "extra long" pencil boxes. Odd size construction paper. Certain size writing tablets. Specialty erasers. Certain type of ruler. Not only did it take quite a bit additional time to run to 10 different stores, it took more money. Specialty items cost more. And I knew that too. Yet, I complied (enter growl). Why did the children need extra long pencil boxes? The regular sizes didn't work? Are the white erasers really that much better than the pink ones? Etc. Now you can see why I'm miffed. Never in my life should I have been so foolish & done all that (enter growl). And now I know many parents didn't. They were the smart ones. Me, on the other hand, fell for the district's crap hook, line & sinker.

So. Not only have the extra trips suddenly disappeared, but so have the "extra long" pencil boxes. Regular size boxes will now suffice. Imagine that. Also gone are the kleenexes, white erasers (pink are fine! Although honestly, the white are better...shh.), rulers, index cards, index card box, 2 different size baggies, highlighters, glitter, construction paper, permanent markers - & that's just to name some. Previously, parents were instructed to purchase "name brands only". Now there is a little note on the list "Recommended brands provided for your convenience & in no way imply a specific brand requirement". Certain colors/types of folders were required - Bentley informed me they didn't even use all of theirs. Ugh.

Just typing all this out gets my goat. How dare a school district take advantage of parents like they have in previous years. Why did they get away with it for so long? So stinkin' inconsiderate. I don't know how full time working parents accomplished all that was required in the past. I am curious though - why all the sudden changes with our district? I wonder if they had been reported...? I don't know. But I do know I am so much more pleased & as a matter of fact, I was able to complete 1/2 of the school supply list, for all three, right then & there at Walmart. Woot!

Finished up the rest today @ Target. There are some writing tablets I was unable to find. You know what? I'm not getting them. As far as I'm concerned, the school district owes me some money. They can pick those little jewels up themselves, on their buck. Not mine. It has also been brought to my attention that parents have been purchasing teacher supplies, as well! However, we were not told that. I have no problem helping with classroom supplies. But by george, instead of manipulating parents, be honest! Let us know which supplies specifically will not be used by our children. I have since found out that some teachers, in our district, refuse to purchase the teacher's supplies that are on their own children's school supply lists! Baha! The teachers aren't even falling for that crap anymore.

One last thing. When Bentley started Kindergarten, he was so excited to be able to pick out his very own school supplies. We took our time, went to all the required stores, had a ball & let him pick out exactly what he wanted. The color, the size, whatever. So. Much. Fun. Until we took his brand new supplies to school & we were instructed to "dump everything into separate piles, with all the other children's items". After all that, my fresh, excited Kindergartener didn't get any of the items he chose. None. Zilch. Some other child(ren) got to use all of his stuff. I was so heartbroken. I felt so bad for Bentley. Which leads me to this...

We have been told not to write children's names on any of the supplies. You know what? Bullcrap. I bought the supplies. With my (our) money. You purchase the supplies? I'll do what you ask. I buy the supplies? I am plastering my children's names all over their supplies so they get to use their stuff. Never again with this district tell me what to do with my (our) money. Woot! It just feels good to be in control versus being controlled.

And there you have it. The longest-post-ever-in-history-regarding-school-supplies post. I'm sure it bored you to tears but guess what? It made me feel better typing it out. Especially the part where I've made the decision to not purchase the remaining supplies. Ahhhhhhhh. I don't like to be treated unfairly. I don't like to be taken advantage of. I don't like to be told what to do with my (our) money. So if the above happens, you can bet your tush I'm going to repay myself & well, just maybe, get a little revenge while I'm at it. Ü

Happy Back to School!

*This year's school supplies (- writing tables I'm not purchasing) = approx. $55.00. For three children.

*Prior year's school supplies = well over $100. For two children.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

After nap.


1.) Nappy, disheveled hair - check.
2.) Grumpy "I don't want my photo taken!" attitude - check.
3.) Pajamas on backwards (still!), now with a mommy made v-neck - check.
4.) Dress up tutu on backwards - check.
5.) Big sister's pretty church shoes unfastened - check.
6.) A family who loves & cherishes her with every ounce of our being - check.


Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Like father like son.

In Destin, lying in bed together watching a show about - of all things - sharks. Baha! What an ironic choice of shows considering we were swimming in the ocean. Ü

See how dark hubby is compared to Bentley? Hubby is full CC, but has a dark complexion. Bentley's birthfather has red hair, thus Bentley is quite fair complected. :)

I love this photo of them together. It's the simple things, & unpronounced moments, that make life so grand. ♥

Monday, August 9, 2010

Vacation!

Destin, Florida. My most favorite destination. Ever. Ü

We decided to return to Destin this year for our annual vacation. About the time we were to make our reservations, the good ol' oil spill happened. We had no idea what to do. We waited & watched, waited & watched. Finally, because were were hesitant & had waited so long, no reservations were made. Sigh.

At that point, we decided to head to Galveston for vacation. We ♥ Galveston, so we were ok with that. Because we hadn't been there since Ike hit, I didn't want to make reservations because I was unsure where I wanted to stay. So, we were going with no reservations & were set to leave last Monday (Aug. 2).

Sunday prior, while out on an errand, suddenly hubby pipes up & says "You know what? Let's head to Destin. Everyone says the beaches are fine - let's just do it. Let's go." Oy! ♥ my man. :) One issue, the dog. He was scheduled to be boarded on Monday a.m., & we wanted to head out on Sunday. It occurred to me to just take Bray with us & board him in Destin. It would be less time away from him & cost us less money. Tada! :)

And so it was. We ran home from our errand, packed on a whim, & off we went on the 12+ hours trek. We spent the entire week in Destin & it was heavenly! (It was also really cool because three of my Facebook friends & their families were in Destin & Panama City! We never hooked up, but we texted back & forth. Fun! :) We returned home last Saturday night @ 11:30 p.m. We are still tired! But it was so worth it. Destin is beautiful. The beaches are so unlike Texas beaches. This year we made the decision to return to Destin every summer for our vacation. I simply adore Destin & my husband loves it just as much. We briefly discussed relocating there; unfortunately, there isn't much of a market there for my husband's industry. So alas, vacations will have to suffice. And that's just fine. :)


And now I'm on overload. School starts in 3 weeks. School supplies & school clothes for three children, this year. Completing painting & decorating Jaguar's bedroom. Our master shower needs a complete restore. Now. It's barely hanging on. Clothes from the garage sale are still sprawled all over the garage. I'm trying to declutter my entire home. I'm trying to cook more healthy/from scratch for my family. This needs to be done. That needs to be done. Currently overwhelming but I know, as always, everything will be ok. Ü

More Destin photos soon. ♥