Thursday Thirteen...It has been a LONG time!

Thirteen things I am going to do while my family is out of town....

1. Shampoo the carpet. (this has become the running joke)
2. Get EVERYTHING ready for the big yard sale.
3. Deep clean & re-organize my kitchen.
4. Read a book....maybe two.
5. Bleach my outside rocking chairs.
6. My friend, Stephanie, is coming to stay with me for a couple of days - we are going to can (aka preserve) some stuff - not sure what yet.
7. Maybe do a little sewing....if I get motivated I have a ton of stuff (that I cut out but haven't finished) I can sell at my Yard Sale.
8. Buy all the school supplies for Jude & Elise (who is going to Pre-School this year).
9. Sort through the kids fall/winter clothes and assess what is needed for the school year.
10. Clean out the toys....must be done while kids are away.
11. Sort through old magazines.
12. Rent "The Reader" - since Jake does not want to see it but I do.
13. I might sleep.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Today is Jake's Birthday. It is our second family birthday this week. I still have leftover cake from Avery's - maybe I will just use it for Jake. LOL. He is not a cake person. But I would like to thank him for making my blog pretty. It took the flower photo in my flower bed and then edited it to make it pretty. I couldn't get it on my blog for nothin'. I gave up. Then the hero rode it....I am going to keep it like this for a while. At least until fall. Thank you Jake!

I took today off work to spend the day with the family. We were going to go Geocaching and then Jake & I were planning for the Aeros game this evening. It is raining and it is going to rain all day. Bummer. We could work on Garage Sale stuff. I am sure that is what Jake wants to do on his birthday.....

Last night we went for our evening walk - what we often do - around the block. There is this house that has been empty pretty much since we moved into the neighborhood. We have peaked in the windows and snooped around a few times. We noticed that it sold a few weeks ago.... We were by the house and I saw the new people were there. I was across the street and I said, "so when are you moving in?" The guy looked up and to my surprise it was an old friend from college. He was part of "my gang" of psych buddies. We took a bunch of classes together and hung out a lot. Well, he, his wife Ellen and their two children are practically neighbors. I am so excited about this. I just love when I run into old friends who know my cast of characters and the old days. I don't know why....I just do.

Oh, while I was writing this Elise came up to me and started asking about Jake's birthday. I told her we don't have a birthday cake. She said, "we can use Avery's!" Like mother, like daughter!

A Picture....

wordless wednesday

What am I thinking????

I have been thinking about a bunch of stuff lately. I would like to blog in detail about each thing but I don't have the time to give each the proper attention it deserves. For now I will give you my free flow thinking....

Most of you have already heard that Shaquille O'Neal signed with the Cavs! In Ohio we are very excited about that....after all the Cleveland sports scene remains bleak with the Indians suffering through yet another losing season and the Browns loss of yet another player over his own dumb actions off the field. Don't even get me started. Anyhoo, on the way to work this morning I heard that Shaq is looking to purchase a home in Hudson. That is so exciting. Not that I really go into Hudson that often but to think I could run into Shaq at the grocery store is kinda exciting.

Jake's birthday is next week. I was talking to the kids about what we should get him. We had a very similar conversation around Father's Day. The initial suggestions were Reese's Cups, pop & beer (funny since he rarely drinks beer - not sure why they keep suggesting it). After giving it some thought Jude decided we should buy Daddy a Wii. He made sure to say he wants me to pay for it and doesn't want me to dip into the Wii fund (the money the kids have been saving for a Wii). Then they could spent the Wii money they already saved on a dog. Clever....

Politicians are irritating me. Local, State & Federal.

I am so over celebrity news. Michael Jackson was a human. He had to die sometime. Sad that he left children. But why is the music community so devastated? The man hadn't contributed for years and years. And everyday people a little nutty over this thing. It is not like you ever knew him or if you even had the chance to meet him that he would have acknowledged your existence. I say, get a CD and pretend he is still alive. And don't even get me started on Jon & Kate.... What a HUGE disgrace. The exploit their children on TV and air all their dirty laundry. They must be horrible people. And I am sick of seeing magazines with his sorry face on it, along with his new little tartlet. I never watched the show, but had always planned too. Now, I won't.

In case you are wondering.... I am sticking to my diet. I have only cheated a couple of minor times....both in the middle of the night when I woke up starving and was still mostly asleep. And I haven't exercised at all....I will. I just haven't had the time. Doesn't doing dishes, chasing kids and running up and down the stairs count as exercise? And the water thing is killing me. Now I have to go pee 10 times a day, which is difficult when I am out and about. It is my policy not to use a clients bathroom. Plus I had to get up THREE times last night to go.....it is like when I was preggo (and no I am not....thanks for wondering).

Well, that is it for now....I must do work.

Cutest Baby Contest...

So, if you don't already know....I entered Avery in a "Cutest Baby Contest". Please vote for her.
Here is the "formal" invite.....

My Baby, Avery (and yes, she is still my baby) is in the Beautiful Babies Contest! I need you to let everyone know how beautiful my baby is! It’s quick & easy to register (Just 3 steps!) Please help Avery win the grand prize of $5000 and a professional photo shoot! Voting is on now through Monday, August 4 Midnight EST. Click this link to go directly to Avery’s photo!

I am not sure why I picked this picture but I did and I can't change it now.....

Let me know if you vote (please).

I won't even try....

....to catch up. But here is a cute picture from today. I was working in the garden and Avery was playing in the fire pit ashes. She ended up getting an impromptu bath. She gets a lot of those these days.
Today I finally downloaded all the pictures I've taken since July 1. I had 369 pics on my camera. There are some really good ones. And some really, REALLY bad ones. After careful inspection of every last one of me & a detailed critic - I have decided to begin a diet tomorrow. Last year after my appendix surgery I did do weight watchers for a minute but then I had all the adverse effects of eating all that extra wheat.....so I gave up. Starting tomorrow: I will exercise, even if it is only for 15 minutes. I will not eat anything I am allergic to. I will drink lots of water. I will avoid sugar. Those are simple rules I think I can keep to. I will keep you posted. In the mean time.....Here are a few more pics.

I took this picture while standing on my front porch. I was about 4 feet away from this woodpecker.

These are from our trip up to Lake Erie last weekend. It was fun.

Talking Politics with the Amish....

If you are new to reading my blog you may want to start with this post.....

This past weekend Paul & Linda brought Jude home. It was nice that we didn't have to go all the way back to WV or even half way to get him. The plan was we would do something up here when they came. We thought about the options: Akron Zoo, Akron Art Museum, Aeros game, Stan Hywett, etc.... But since we are saving our money for other things right now & we were unsure of the weather - we decided it was time for a trip to visit the Amish relatives! I am always up for an Amish Adventure. So, we loaded up the vans and headed down to Roy & Lavina's. Of course, Linda called them first to make sure it was okay. They promptly called back and said they would love to have the gang! When we got there, one of Jake's many cousins, Robert, was there with his wife (I don't know her name). We sat out on the porch with them along with Roy & Lavina. Roy is a hoot. Seriously. He makes fun of Paul for moving to West Virginia and talks to him in a fake southern accent....too funny. So, we are just sitting there and Paul announces that I have some strong political opinions (pretty controversial ones, as well). That sparked a conversation that I am still thinking about 3 days later! First of all - a little background....on Friday the House voted to pass HB 2454 - otherwise known as the Cap & Trade Bill or "America's Clean Energy Bill". Don't even get me started on it. I will probably blog about it at a later date. I won't go into all the details but basically it is going to increase the cost of electricity 5-10xs more than we pay now. It is a big push to make everyone go "green". The government totally pushed this through. 300 pages were added at 3:00 A.M. and the vote wasn't even 24 hours later. The Bill has all kinds of other stuff added to it that doesn't even have to do with Energy - like money for Acorn, Fannie & Freddie. Anyhoo....I am getting to fired up. Here is the thing....many - wait - MOST people don't even know this is going on. But the Amish - well they do. They are very upset about it. Even though they don't use electricity they are smart enough to know this will effect the price of EVERYTHING. Well, we talked about that and after I got all fired up they asked what kind of job I do - they thought I was some sort of politician or something. LOL. Paul did tell them I voted for Obama. I thought I was going to get excommunicated right then and there but they said he is better than Hillary (good thing Paul didn't tell them I voted for her and even went to see her!). Robert's wife did say some nice things about Obama - I enjoyed her perspective since I am becoming somewhat jaded when it comes to him. Again....another blog for another day. I will say I have decided to leave the Democratic party. For now I will be independent.

On another interesting topic....Jake's cousin, Emma (the one that came to my house) and her family have left their parents church and have joined a new church. It is called "The Newest New Order Amish". Seriously. And they are allowed to have telephones and electricity. I am so surprised. Oh, and Emma is pregnant again.

The kids had a good time. It was Avery's first time there. And since we were there last, Jonathon (Jude's cousin, who he used to refer to as 'his friend who's dad has a long beard') has learned to speak English. Finally he and Jude can understand one another. Here he is....

Here is Avery eating his popcorn. She didn't want her own....she wanted to eat his! And, of course, he let her.....

I did get Emma's number and plan to keep in contact with her. Also, Robert's Wife invited us down and said we can have a cookout. I hope we can sometime. I just love going down there.