Well, I Never........

Things I've once said:

I'll never drive a minivan
I have never dyed my hair
I'll never purchase a brand new car
I plan to never go back to work full-time
I'm not going to give my kids 'choices', they get one kind of cookie, one color cup and will wear what I tell them
Meeting friends on the internet is absolutely insane
I'm not into any Reality TV shows
I can't believe I lost 12 pounds without trying
I'll never drink again
I'm not having kids; I don't even think I want to get married

Anyone who really knows me......you're laughing right now, aren't you.

Got Squirrels?

On Wednesday, my oldest son was playing ball outside and he came upon 2 baby squirrels on our lawn lying by parts of a nest. We figure the nasty winds had knocked their nest out of the tree.......so he comes in to get my husband and they got a box, put in the heating pad and parts of the nest and other stuff from the ground and lay the box by the tree so that the mother can come and find them. Once it got dark and colder out they brought the box into our garage and put a light on it to keep them warm - along with the heating pad, then yesterday the box went out by the tree again, because my husband spotted a squirrel looking for them (and it looked like the squirrel had a broken leg). So we have this box sitting by our tree, with an extension cord going to the house for the heating pad - all day. They also put peanuts on the ground all around the area where the box is, hoping to attract mama squirrel. We came home after work/school and the babies were still there. The peanuts were gone. We wondered if she rejected them.

Of course we looked on line and it said not to give them cow milk or soy milk and that if you give them water to be careful not to get the water near the nose, which was hard because of their size - even with a dropper. My husband called around and found a rescue place that was open about 30 minutes away. So off they went to the squirrel rescue to deliver the babies. The man at the rescue told them that they were about 2 weeks old and dehydrated and that if the mother did have a broken leg, she wouldn't have been able to care for them, he immediately sprayed them for fleas, put them in an incubator and got them some hydration.......so now we have a case number where my son can call to check on them. Once they are 11 weeks old, they will be set free in the woods so they can be the nasty rodents that they are meant to be.

One thing my son brought back with him is that the center is run by volunteers and of course we gave a nice donation last night, but my son, who is almost 11 knows that in the next few years he will have community hours to serve for service projects for church and for boy scouts, so he is already planning on volunteering at one of these wild animal rescue centers. Also, when he bridged over to Boy Scouts last weekend, he promised to do a good turn daily. I think this counts for a weeks worth (but don't tell him that).

I'm a Cheesesteak?

OK, so I don't think I have an accent. So I take this quiz. Below are my results. Hmmm.......I have lived my whole life in Philadelphia suburbs, I guess I can't hide that fact. Hey, you....want a hoagie?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia   Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.
The Northeast
The Midland
The Inland North
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

We entertain a lot!

OK, so please don’t judge me too harshly, but I like beer. I like to drink beer socially on the weekends and have an occasional one or two during the week. I grew up with beer drinking parents and siblings, and I've been drinking beer since highschool college. My husband likes beer too, as do most of our friends. We have a bar, out on our patio, with a keg refrigerator and a TV for whatever sporting event may be on. Our house is where all the neighbors come to watch a sport and have a drink or two. OK, so the point of this story is that last year when I was not working, I’d fit my beer store run in on my Friday errands. Sometimes if I don’t like what kind of beer is in the current keg, I like to have a case on hand of another kind of beer. I would go to the same store where my husband buys his kegs. I got to know the owners of the store from my Friday visits, and they would dote over my son and give him a lollypop. So one day my husband and I went into the store together………the owner stared at me, stared at him, back to me, back to him and then he exclaimed “you two together?” (Asian accent). He was apparently amazed at the amount of beer we purchase. Real matter of factly, my husband replied………"We entertain a lot".
So that’s it, we explained ourselves. I haven’t been in the store in a while as the entertaining at home slows down in the winter. My husband went in the other night to get a case of beer for the snow storm. (don’t ask) The store owner’s eyes lit up and he pulled out a shirt all wrapped up in plastic……….”Here, this is for your wife”, it was advertising one of my favorite beer brands. So, knowing the owner does have some perks, even if he does think I’m a load.

PS I like wine too.

He was in stitches

Well, for the first time in almost 11 years as a mom, I had to hold my son down while getting 3 stitches in his head. It was a freak accident, he was chasing the dog, fell and banged his head on the wall........nothing that hasn't happened several thousand times before, but this time, it bled......and remained open. So we took him to the near by Urgent Care (we were at our shore house at the time), thinking they'd ............ I don't know what we were thinking they'd do, but the next thing you know we were holding him down so she could numb the area and sew it up. As you can see, they didn't even shave his head, which part of me was glad, because he just got this cool haircut. I just hope they didn't stitch any of the hair INTO the wound. Poor little guy. He screamed, I cried, the doctor was shaking (DT's?) I think because she was nervous he would move, but he didn't. He did, however, proclaim "I don't like doctors anymore".

So now, I'm so afraid when he runs. How do you tell an almost 4 yr old not to run? He will see his regular doctor tomorrow - I hope he doesn't remember his proclamation about not liking doctors - the stitches may or may not come out.

If anyone is reading and knows........does it hurt to have them taken out???? Please let me know.



Anyway, we all know the cure all......................ICE CREAM! Yup, he got some, his sister and brother got some, his parents...........well, we needed something stronger than ice cream. We were all happy.

OK, he doesn't look very happy, but he has a mouth full of Cookies n' cream with extra Oreos on top.

40 Tips for a Powerful New Year

Again, this was sent to me.....not my words, but some real good advice for all of us.

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a Tivo (DVR), tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to ___________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends will. Stay in touch.

32. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

34. The best is yet to come.

35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

36. Do the right thing!

37. Call your mother and father often.

38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: 'I am thankful for __________.' Today I accomplished _________.

39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

I just can't do it

So, something new.........I'm trying to lose 10 lbs by the end of Feb. I'm in a challenge here at work, we don't have to post our weight, just what we gained/lost....every Tuesday. People, Tuesday is waytooclose to the weekend, I need my weigh in on Friday morning. I am so good during the week, eating lots of fruit, drinking only water and lots of it, no cheese, no sweets, no snacking........but I must tell you, there is definitely NOT enough chocolate in apples. Then Friday hits. OK, its pizza night, one slice of plain won't pack on too many fat cells right? Well, ok, you must drink beer on Friday nights with your pizza......ok, see a pattern? Saturday comes, I try to be good all day because I usually have some sort of social event to attend on Saturday night and what will be there? FOOD and DRINK. My new thing is to always be the designated driver, that way I'll only have one or two drinks. Sunday comes, I'm not gonna eat much or drink today..........football is on. Need I say more. I really thought I did well this past weekend. I really monitored my intake. I even took the kids to the ice cream birthday party on Sat and only had a little teeny taste of my son's ice cream. Didn't order one for myself. Damn. I'm gonna see some lower numbers on Tuesday.........So here it is Tuesday, I did good, I even exercised, where is my scale..........drumroll please........................I gained 2/10 of a pound.

So now I started reading Skinny Bitch. I'm not too far into it, but I can definitely hope that it will scare me away from some foods. We shall see........