Boo!

Skyping.

My husband is currently sitting in another country. So as time allows, especially with the time difference, we've been doing this:



He is exhausted. No sleep in 24 hours. I'm just about as exhausted as he is & I haven't gone anywhere. ;o)

He doesn't return until Thursday & even though I'm currently trying to post every day or so, it may not happen this week. But I'll try. :) I have decided to try something new & attempt to sell some beautiful, reversible, solid gold, pierced earrings via my blog. I have sold a lot of jewelry in the past via eBay, but never my blog. Might as well give it a go, no? I have them all clean & shiny, so I'll try to find the time in the next few days to get them photographed & posted.

Happy new week! Get some sleep for me! Ü

Need to LOL?

I know what you're thinking. I did not do this. I swear. But someone somewhere did, because I saw this photo on Facebook. And I cannot stop laughing. Ü

Disqus & floor steamers.

Disqus is my new comment format! Woot! Now I can reply to comments right here on my blog, versus trying to reply by email. Some I can reply via email, but some accounts aren't set up that way (from what I understand, it's an option in the Blogger profile). Now it doesn't matter! I love reading comments & love participating! If you choose to leave a comment (please, don't feel obligated!) & want to be notified of replies to your comment, I believe there's a little option box you can check when filling out your comment. Ü

I must check out these floor steamers! Rebecca told me about hers months ago & I totally forgot to research. I'm still skeptical - do they really remove dirt? Grime? Dirty paw prints? Dried milk/juice? They sound too good to be true, but I really think I'm going to try one if they are affordable. Thanks so much for your comments on my Cleaning Products post - I so enjoy chatting about products & finding out what works for others. Whitney's comment reminded me that I have tried Method products & I like them. They now disinfect, too. I currently use Method's Daily Shower & have used it for quite some time.

Happy Sunday! Ü

Epic fail.

I thought I'd take a photo of myself. Obviously, I can take them of others, but me, not so much.

I've been playing with photos, but I must quit screwing around now. We have a family dinner to attend. I have to get dressed & fix my hair. My hair is not fixed (or, complete, rather) in this photo. I've only straightened it (I still need to fix my bangs (desperately) & put my hair up in a clip - it's 6-7+ inches past my shoulders...blah) & put on makeup. I also have two frizzy haired little girls to get ready, too. Getting ladies ready to go out on the town is no easy, quick task. It's hard work being glamorous. ;o)

Happy Saturday! Ü

Fetching toys & redecorating blog.

Let me introduce you to our foyer.

Notice the light above & the plant ledge on the left. Toy. Magnets. Ü

A tiny zoom of the light fixture:

Um, yah. Some of those toys have been in there 5 years. And they will stay, because we don't have a ladder tall enough to reach. Suffice to say, that sucker's never been cleaned. Ain't gonna be, either. Teehee. ;o)

Below we have exhibit B. Feel free to lean whichever way you deem necessary, to view said photo, since it appears I was laying on my side when snapping the photo. What the heck? Was my face crooked that day? Good glory!

Hubby was able to retrieve some frisbees & toys off the ledge. Not likely to happen for another five years, though. Throw low little people, throw low. Ü

A few things I'm contemplating:

Redecorating my blog! When I post photos, I upload twice. Once to Photobucket, once to Blogger. I do this so I can have the larger photos. But. I created my own layout & I think now Blogger possibly has some new layouts that support large photos, without having to upload twice. So, I'm going to check those out. If those don't work I'll come up with something else. I hope. :)

I think I'm going to start a link party. Many bloggers hold link parties & I love them! I love being able to click on other blogs & read what they are about & view their photos. However, I don't think I'm going to have a particular subject (i.e. furniture restoration, tour of homes, crafts, Etsy, etc.). I'm leaning towards subject-free. Just a simple introduce yourself & your blog! Whatever may tickle your fancy.

Tomorrow we are up & gone bright & early - Bentley has his very 1st narration part in a Veteran's Day program! The video camera is charged, has a new tape ready to go & I'm so excited! Woot! Ü

A whole lotta nothing.

I haven't blogged in a week. I just have nothing. Lots going on in my head, but nothing going on on my blog. Do I want to take my blog a different direction? Decorating? I am all about decorating right now. I have always loved decorating & one reason we bought this home was to renovate & redecorate. Which as you know, we're just now beginning (almost 5 years after moving in), due to the house being neglected by the previous owner. I've also considered including some of the fun stuff some other blogs do (or come up with something new - that would be cool too). Or heck, maybe I should just shut 'er down. Decisions, decisions. Ü

It's no secret I despise Halloween, so thank goodness it's almost upon us! I found the most perfect pumpkin today @ Target. Nice & round & plump, with no flat/bad spots!

Once the Halloween decor comes down, Christmas is going up! I adore Christmas & for some reason I am just so darn tootin' excited! It's going to be a great Christmas this year. Heck, it's a great Christmas every year! So many blessings to be thankful for & of course, Jesus' birthday.

Today I stopped at a garage sale. Yep, Texas has garage sales on Thursdays. I found this gold pinecone wreath for $2. It's not flat on top, so I'm not sure why the image makes it look as if it is. Some of the needles (?) are loose, so I attempted to super glue them to secure them. That um, didn't work so well. ;o) Guess I'll pull out the ol' glue gun. Anyway, I'm so going to paint it silver, hang some beautimous, thick, bright, Christmas-green ribbon through it & hang it up! First I have to figure out how to clean the darn thing.

Happy Halloween & Happy weekend! Ü

We weren't the only ones in Destin.

(Browsing my photos - I haven't taken many of photos of my children lately! - ran across this. Searching for tar...)

Because life is too short not to giggle.

Watch first:



Watch after:




Bahahaha! Too cute. Ü

I've been busy.

I could have told you it was going to happen. It happens every year, just like clockwork. Exactly one week after school starts.

Not only did the kids bring home completed work, books & forms, they brought home a nasty cold bug. Boo! Last Friday evening we went to dinner & I could feel it brewing. By Saturday, I was down & out. Which is so aggravating to me - a wasted weekend. I hate that. Sunday rolls around - Jaguar has it. She stayed home from school Monday & Tuesday. Monday rolls around, Mercedes has it. Tuesday I picked the boys up from school & now Bentley has it. Big time. He had no business staying/being at school. But that's just how he rolls. Audi continues to sound a little stuffy, but he feels fine. Hubby has no symptoms. Yet.

So alas, it has been one miserable weekend & week. I'm still not feeling up to par, so many areas are being neglected right now. The upside is that I've discovered lots of new decorating blogs, so that's made me all happy happy while coughing & sneezing. Ü

Hopefully I'll return soon - with painted room photos!

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! :)

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.

I've lost an earring.

And I think it possibly could be out here, on our patio.

It's a small diamond with a gold post. If you spot it in the above photo, could you please let me know? Thanks. Ü

Blog break!

Ok, I'm not really Gone Fishin', but I thought it was cute. I'm so creative like that. Ü

I'm just swamped right now. So much to do & there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to make much progress. Sunday is our annual 4th of July family reunion, which I wasn't going to attend, but now I am. Saturday we are heading to my brother's for a cookout & sparklers & because he (they) live close to where our family reunion is, I just decided to go ahead & do both. I am such a brave soul. Livin' on the edge, I'm tellin' ya. :)

They both are over an hour drive from our house - so we decided to get a hotel room for Saturday night to avoid driving back & forth. Should work out super & my wee ones love staying in hotels, so they are really excited. Which makes me all happy happy. But.

Now I have so much to do to prepare for both. I know I haven't blogged in a while & it's not looking good. So I've decided to take the week & Gone Fishin'. :)

Don't forget about me - I'll be back! Have a super week & a super 4th! Ü

Caught in the act.

I told my husband someone was eating the peaches & leaving their peach pits in our yard! Busted! Ü

Bliss winner!

Did you win? Well, let's see! I chose the Bliss winner!

Well, I didn't, this time, Random.org did! Ready?

The winner? #24! Aimee! Congrats, Aimee! Ü

Email me your address to: adoptiondivine@gmail.com, & I'll get your Bliss off to you on Monday!

Thanks everyone for playing! ♥ doing giveaways. So fun!

Next order of business - I am dropping Adoption Divine! Yep! Another change! Why? I don't care for it, it has never brought me any hits (which was really it's purpose), & because I have absolutely no desire to further pursue this professional blogging stuff, I really want to return to the simple. Ü Hopefully by changing back to a blogspot address (i.e. free!), my blog updates will again be showing in readers. This has been a problem for months & I'm assuming it is related to my domain. I have been unsuccessful in rectifying the issue, so I'll just be done with Adoption Divine. I just want to go cute, fun & simple! After I change, I have no desire to change again. Done. Finished. I just want to blog, with no more changes. :)

I will post the new address here, so watch for it! Once it changes, it changes. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Happy weekend! Ü

Cute, flowery ice cube trays. *Update.

Saturday, I sent hubby to get groceries. Huh? Yep, I do send him to the store. Every now & then he offers, as well. Why should I always be the one to buy groceries? I don't eat all the groceries myself, & I work too, right? :o)

Anyway.

At the top of the list, yes I make him a list 'cause I'm all sweet & helpful like that, I wrote:

Cute, flowery spirals.

Below that:

Rubbermaid ice cube trays.

He returned home with neither.

Then proceeded to inform me that he & the boys absolutely could not locate any cute, flowery, spiral Rubbermaid ice cube trays.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why. Ü



*I didn't realize this might be confusing until I read Melissa's comment. Baha! I giggled. :) So I'll elaborate a tad - I am a writer - I write, write, write. Everything. So, the "cute, flowery spirals" are actually spiral notebooks I was desiring. The ice cube trays just happened to be written underneath. Ü

Sometimes solitude is delightful.

I ♥ fact that I am a people person. I am bubbly & friendly - you know, I'm one of those that has "never met a stranger". Obviously, I do not possess those qualities when I am sick & tired. As I was today. Hello Wal-Mart.

The girls & I headed on our typical trek to get groceries. Soon after entering the store, we discovered about 4 baskets full of Valentine's items - 50% off. I thought I was going to hyperventilate, but I didn't. However, I certainly stopped to peek.

As I'm standing there looking as frumpy as frumpy can get (I kid you not - dirty sweats, a t-shirt covered up with a sweatshirt jacket because I guess I thought it was 20 below in there, dirty hair up in a clip (& not a 'good' clip, my good clip broke this a.m. so I had to use an alternative & it was horrible), not a lick of makeup, glasses smudged, etc. I think I looked a little homeless. Anyway, here came another mom to look at the Valentine's goodies. Dressed all proper, obviously showered, perfect hair & perfect makeup. Oh goodie goodie.

She began to browse. Let me tell you. This chick was so tickled pink with the sale, she felt the need to include me in all her findings. She started with "your girls are just beautiful". "Thank you", I said. That was just the beginning.

Her: Oh my! This stuff is 50% off!
Me: Oh I know. Great deals for next year.
I keep browsing.
Her: Again: Your girls are so pretty.
I smile & say "thank you".
I keep browsing.
Her (with some decorations in her hand): I have one in college & I'm looking for scrapbook stuff.
Me: Oh, I see. Those are cute.
Me: Jaguar, look at the Valentines! You'll be in school next year & need some for friends.
Her: The cookies are only .75 cents!
Me: Wow. Good deal.
I keep browsing.
Me: Jaguar, do you like these?
Jaguar: Nope.
Her: This stuff is great! You could even use these for birthday decorations.
Me: Yah, what a good idea.
I keep browsing.
Me: Jaguar, here are some kitties, do you like them?
Jaguar: Nope.
Me: These have tattoos! Do you like these?
Jaguar: Nope.
(Seeing a pattern here with Jaguar.)
I keep browsing.
Her: If you go to the back, where the seasonals are kept, you can get plates & napkins (she holds both of them up to show me) - all on sale!
Me: Cool. I'll have to run by that section.
By now I'm thinking "WOMAN! Shut up! I can't even think!" (My thoughts weren't quite that um...pure.)
I keep browsing.
Me: Jaguar look! They even have really cute little gift bags.
Her: If you dig deep enough, they even have ones with tissue paper tucked in them!
Me: Oh, ok!
Her: You could even use these for Christmas!
By now, my eyes were crossing.
Me: Jaguar, I'll tell you what. Let's go get what we need to get & we'll come back by.
Her: Again: Your girls are so cute.
Me: Thank you. Happy Shopping!

Big Mouth.

I was exhausted before we even started. I was so rattled, by the time we were finished shopping, I completely forgot to go back to the sale items, thus missing the bargains. Thanks a lot, Ms. Peppy.

Teehee. Ü

100 Interesting Facts About...Me! Original post 3.28.06.

Maybe you won't find them that interesting. Baha! Even though things have changed since that time - I'm not going to alter anything. I ♥ these! Ü

Ready? Go!

1.) I LOVE my life! :)

2.) I am almost 39, but people think I look younger. Yippee! :)

3.) I am VERY witty. VERY. I am also my biggest fan. LOL! :)

4.) My husband has a LOT of patience when dealing with me. For that I am thankful. :)

5.) I have major OCD. Major. I am counseling myself because it's cheaper. :)

6.) I do not have a lot of patience! Some days are better than others. :)

7.) I want braces. :)

8.) I was almost kidnapped at my very 1st apartment community when I was a leasing agent.

9.) I became a very young apartment manager at the age of 23. :)

10.) I have never been fired from a job. :)

11.) I have never done a single drug in my life. :)

12.) I have been married 4 times. No, that's no typo. :)

13.) I was not a Christian until I was 30.

14.) I WAS going to hell.

15.) I am NOT going to hell! :)

16.) I pray I can help to keep others from going to hell!

17.) I LOVE people! I have never met a stranger. :)

18.) I am addicted to US & In Touch magazines.

19.) I am definitely an extrovert. And proud. :)

20.) I hope & pray my children are all honest, friendly, sociable, hard-working, affectionate & happy.

21.) I am an animal lover. :)

22.) I am a birthparent advocate! :)

23.) I am a 'black or white' person. To me, there is no gray. I'm working on that. :)

24.) I had a horrible, horrible upbringing.

25.) I love diet coke! :)

26.) I am an extremely finicky eater.

27.) I ONLY drive black vehicles. :)

28.) I have had sculpt nails on approximately 732 times. LOL! :)

29.) I want dark hair, but my hair refuses; no matter what, it always goes blonde again. Ugh!

30.) I used to be a member of a Bass Club. Quit laughing. :)

31.) I used to get up at 2:30 a.m. to fish in tournaments! :)

32.) I finally wisened up & discovered I LOVE the mall instead of an icky day of fishing. :)

33.) I LOVE to shop & I LOVE shopping for my children's clothes! :)

34.) I have two Dooney's - but I refuse to carry them because I prefer my Target purses. :)

35.) I have a bubbly personality. :)

36.) I drove into a cement wall once (um, in a Lexus!) because I was looking at a shopping strip. :)

37.) I have terrible depth perception.

38.) I am an awesome driver - though my husband would argue with that one. :)

39.) I have road rage! Very severe too I might add. I seriously need some help. LOL! :)

40.) I love working in flower beds & keeping an immaculate yard. :)

41.) I love decorating & keeping an immaculate home. :)

42.) I LOVE to clean! :)

43.) I am one of the best, true friends you will ever find. :)

44.) I have very few friends because they aren't "true".

45.) I do not like ice cream. :)

46.) Occasionally, I like something chocolate. :)

47.) I love vacations & staying in expensive hotels (that's my husband's fault!). :)

48.) I love HGTV. :)

49.) I love the color pink! My favorite color. :)

50.) I "won" Best Looking all 4 years of high school. :)

51.) I was Homecoming Rep. my Junior Year, & Homecoming Queen my Senior Year. :)

52.) I don't look like that anymore. ROFL! :)

53.) I love to help others. :)

54.) I love to laugh! :)

55.) I wear visors (hats) all the time & have almost my entire life. :)

56.) I was born in Peoria, Illinois. :)

57.) I HATE Texas! :)

58.) I yell a lot. I'm working on that. :)

59.) I expect everything to be perfect. I won't settle for less. :)

60.) I have been on nightly medication for Classic Migraines for 14 years.

61.) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my babies! :)

62.) I have been blessed by God immensely. More than I could ever deserve. :)

63.) I quit working when hubby & I got married 10 years ago. :)

64.) I LOVE working! :)

65.) I began working at age 15. :)

66.) I got married the 1st time at age 18. :)

67.) Infertility has been my greatest blessing. :)

68.) I am addicted to the internet. :)

69.) I never wanted the internet...hubby did. Thanks hubby! :)

70.) I like & hate to fly. :)

71.) I have 4 piercings in each ear. :)

72.) I would love to have a tiny tattoo. :)

73.) I HATE stepping on toys!

74.) I love taking photos. :)

75.) I love the rain. :)

76.) I love cold weather & I hate hot weather. :)

77.) In high school, I was angry at my hair & slammed my hand through a glass window. I ended up at the hospital. I refused stitches. Because of all that, I missed my senior class picture!

78.) I have had way too many stitches. :)

79.) I love driving around! :)

80.) I love going to the lake & I can pull our boat very well. :)

81.) I have only 4 cousins. I haven't seen them in over 25 years.

82.) I am a child of an alcoholic.

83.) I drove an ugly, nasty, piece of junk GREEN car as my 1st car. It shouldn't even be classified as a car. My dad didn't even pay cash for it - he traded some blinds for it. LOL! :) (wasn't funny then)

84.) I called that piece of junk Kermit. :)

85.) I am quite "frugal". :)

86.) I love jewelry! :)

87.) I am NOT a morning person. :)

88.) I love being in bed & I love sleeping. :)

89.) I am VERY frightened when I am alone at night while hubby travels.

90.) I want more babies! :)

91.) I barely graduated from High School due to my upbringing.

92.) I love to have fun! :)

93.) I am very spontaneous. :)

94.) I am not fond of little critters (i.e. snakes, lizards, spiders, etc.)

95.) I found a snake in my house one time & called the police. Duh. :)

96.) I called the gas company out because I smelled gas coming from our new oven...our oven was electric. Duh again. :)

97.) I thought someone was breaking into our house & I called the fire department. :)

98.) I'm really not that dumb! LOL! :)

99.) I won First Place in a typing competition but couldn't go to national finals because I failed English.

100.) I can 10-key faster than anyone you know. :)

101.) I am absolutely, positively terrified that my children will grow up hating me. That is my greatest fear!

****************************************

So fun to read what I wrote almost 4 years ago! If you've known me long, you can tell by this list that I am a very honest person! LOL I ♥ that.

The only discrepancy I noticed was #60. That # should have been around 16 or 17, I think. I've been on that medication for close to (or over) 20 years.

This post received some very funny comments - I'll have to find & post those at a later time.

So - did you find any of these things interesting? Ü