....In My Mind It's Always Funny

2012-01-27T13:02:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I woke up to one of those days where getting out of bed is almost impossible so I went back to sleep till after noon.

While having my morning {ha} coffee, I mentioned to the little one {who was home from school with a sinus infection} that I wanted to rip out that sink in the living room {in it's day of 1987, it was a jamming wet bar} and put a desk and computer there and get the desk out of the kitchen. There is a matching alcove on the other side of that wall in the kitchen where we have the desk and computer right now and I have a beautiful storage cabinet I bought 2 years ago to fill that space.
The little one grabbed a handful of tools and got to work. Much pounding and screwdriving and patience {if it would have been me, I would have been swearing and throwing things but that little dude is calm and obviously quite the demolition expert} later, here we were:

He mentioned spiders aplenty which made the big one shiver and run upstairs.
Now, it looks like this:

Complete with some Monopoly money and a playing card. He said "would it be cool if we found a million dollars under there?" and I agreed.
The plumbing needs to be removed and some spackling and painting will be done but notice that there is no carpeting there either. Since we are having wood floors installed sometime in the next few months, it doesn't bother me much.

Although the space is too small for this, I could do the left side with the built-in desk and shelves. Then someday when someone else lives here, they can say "why the hell would someone want a desk in the living room?" like I said about the sink.

I do wonder where the spiders went.

I got a few loads of laundry washed and took them over to my brother-in-law's to dry them. When I walked in the door, I started sneezing and after about 10 minutes of constant ah-choos, I think I might be coming down with a cold.

I finished spray painting my bridal shower project too. I will show you when I finish.

Guess what I am getting?

iPhone 4 S

No more 3G. I am looking for a fancy case for it now.

Candy?

Um, Butts?

Peter Cottontail

For Mel's enjoyment

Have you seen the Honey Badger videos on You Tube? You should...

Oh sweet mother, how I love this!

I could put a bird on it

The theme for this month at work!!

2012-01-25T19:15:00.004-06:00

In a nutshell:

I have to look for a bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding. In yellow. I am loving this one in Canary.. My skin is dry, I am pasty white, I hate shaving my legs in winter and I hate dresses. I am going next week. Can we pray?

Gap is having a 40% off sale online. I participated. For the economy.

My dryer is broken and they ordered a part. It might be in at the end of this week or Monday. I have not done a load since Saturday. You can imagine my delight.

Our friends, who invited us and then invited their daughter instead are in Hawaii. Good for them. I am getting kind of over that friendship anyway since whenever we have plans they either move them or cancel.

Have I mentioned that January is employee insanity month? Yeah. Today was no exception. It involved a drunk, threatening phone call from one employee to another that was at work and a "visit" from our friend who is a deputy sheriff. The employee didn't show up to explain himself and I didn't get to use my pink taser. He is scheduled to go to rehab next week but I think he might have to go somewhere else instead (jail)

I think my tire issue is finally fixed. There was corrosion on 3 of them and a screw in one. The sensor kept telling me they were all low. Stupid talking cars.

My neighbor texted me yesterday to ask if I had seen her cat. He got out and she feared he was in someone's garage (or my dog's belly) She texted me later to tell me she found him next door with the neighbors female cats all cuddled up. I got this text today:

She made an appt. to get him fixed but her hubby and 2 son's flipped out so she put it off.
She is taking him tomorrow.

It rained all day. I have had to dry off these ridiculous dogs numerous times which means I have to use 2 towels each time. Again. No dryer people.

2012-01-23T10:50:00.002-06:00

Here is a better trailer. If you have not read the books, they are awesome.

2012-01-22T02:07:00.001-06:00

The little one had an out of town concert this evening so as soon as I got home from work, I put on some blush, threw on some different clothes {with my husband rushing me} and we left.

Mr. Funny wanted to go to Target {which is bizarre but if I have finally trained him to love Target, he can probably stay here after all} and we had an hour to kill so he went his way and I went mine. I would like to say something really quick here. Every single time I go to Target, any Target, the bathroom is a mess. It smells, the trash is overflowing and the toilets are dirty.
Why??
There always seems to be plenty of staff so why can't there be a little potty maintenance, is all I am saying.

Anywhatever. I went to the dollar area where there was a screaming kid so I ~~ran like the wind~~ checked out the clearance clothes.
Yes, I bought some clothes. I got 4 $4.00 shirts.
And Mr. Funny bought rawhide chews and a Dyson. Because he is obsessed.

I really like the way it cleans the tile floors, like a canister vacuum, and it will be great when we get the wood installed.
The best part was when my husband vacuumed the stairs.
So we will add it to our growing Dyson family.

The little one's concert was awesome! There were kids from all over our district and I saw a few people we knew. We got great seats on the second row of the auditorium and I took my coat off and enjoyed the show {a lot of times I leave my coat on because I am always cold and it was 20 degrees here all day}

Then we stopped for dinner at Lonestar steakhouse. We had a nice dinner and I stopped in the bathroom {which was clean, good for you Lonestar!}on our way out and as I washed my hands, I noticed a small tag on the side of my sweater vest. Then I noticed the large tag on the back. The outside of the back. Old Navy XL.
I wore an inside out sweater and never noticed. And not one person told me {and I know plenty of people at the concert saw it}
I don't care that it was Old Navy. I don't care if it was an XL. What bothers me is that people thought I couldn't properly dress myself.

My husband laughed at with me.

Since I got the floors vacuumed and steam mopped tonight, I have time to start my project tomorrow morning.

I cannot wait!

My husband picked up the elliptical machine today. It was been "being fixed" for a month but they put in a whole new computer board so yesterday she called to tell me it had been fixed so I can program it and tomorrow I will try it out.

ps. the tree is down

Mr. F took off the 6,385 strings of lights and I wrapped them while he took down the tree. I cleaned and organized the tubs of decor and put them all neatly away so next year I won't curse myself. I still have a few breakable things to bubble wrap tomorrow but I am almost ready to pull out the Valentine stuff.

I cannot wait to show the cute, super cheap bird stuff I bought the other day while my husband was ordering 40 chairs at Oak Express. I might use it for the bridal shower.

off to bed.....

2012-01-20T20:21:00.001-06:00

I am in charge of a very important project involving my sister's bridal shower. {forgot to turn the flash on, please excuse}

I had forgotten how much I love scrapbooking paper.....

I also have a Valentine's Day craft idea.

I have no idea when I am going to find the time to do all of these things because I still have to decide on upholstery, wallpaper, paint and wood flooring.
I did decide which carpet I wanted and we ordered it yesterday. We are going with carpet squares for the restaurant. You turn the tiles so as to get a pattern.

I bought myself a present the other day as a reward for whatever it is I do.

via Etsy

I have been searching for an ice bucket, scoop and pitcher for when we have large gatherings. These were perfect.

It is actually called an ice cream chiller but it is the perfect size for a lot of ice when we have a drink station set up. I love restaurant supply stores.

Trying to talk my husband into taking me here:

Naples, Florida.
It isn't working but I am not giving up hope.

He said we can go on a beach trip next year. I am thinking Maui or Turks and Caicos.

I could just die. {photo from here}

Hawaii really was so amazing. I already told my hubby we are retiring there.Do you think people would ever visit me?

Got my brother's birthday present:

That is really all I have time for today.

Have a great weekend! Wish warm thoughts!!

2012-01-16T23:48:00.003-06:00

I have an enthralling post for you but I am already in bed and I hate writing posts on my iPad.

I leave you with this quote from one of my favorite movies. If you guess it, you get to come take down this $@&?/&$ Christmas tree (ornaments are off and away) and help pack away all the breakable decor that is all over my dining room table. I will even make you a drink and entertain you with the saga of the last few months of our life here at the Funny farm.

"It's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident."

And how is it that I have never heard of or been in a HomeGoods till today??
Tomorrow........

New work motto

2012-01-14T15:20:00.000-06:00

2012-01-11T00:41:00.004-06:00

Fascinating things that happened while I wasn't blogging.

The pipes under the kitchen sink came apart, including the one from the disposal, and water and gross water went all over under there. The only thing that made it somewhat easier was the container I store my cleaning supplies in caught a lot of the water. It was my fault because I put some crap from the fridge in there and it jostled the pipes loose. My husband fixed it.

The shelving in my closet fell. It is that stupid white wire shelving and it is all connected. 3 shelves, 3 full clothing bars. On the floor. Well, some of it stayed and tried to rip out of the wall. If you know me, I have my closet color coded and sorted by season and my shoes are in their original boxes. I almost passed out. The one main bar that it all connects to was sitting on top of another bar, not attached or anything, just a small square piece on top of another so when it got bumped, it went a crashing. My husband fixed it with duct tape but I am currently looking into a wood closet shelving system from Lowes.

I got my hair cut short and a blue feather painted in. The funniest thing is, men notice it more than women. I like the shorter cut but it takes a long time to flat iron it and the front is a little longer than the back with fewer layers. It is too short for a pony so I have to style it every day. Something to live for.

Is anyone else watching The Bachelor? I really don't find Ben that attractive and the women are so utterly stupid that I could not even pick a favorite. They really should think about how they look and sound on tv. Their mother's should be ashamed. I will keep watching for now but it had better improve.

We made a trip to a new (to us) restaurant supply store yesterday. We were going to get just a few things and ended up with a Suburban load. They had lots of choices for new tables and chairs and we found a commercial toaster (350 pieces an hour) and 2 commercial microwaves. We have always just used 3 double toasters and regular residential mics because of the cost factor but we go through so many of them, it was time to try something different. When you serve 137,000 people a year, simple is better. We also stocked up on smallwares (plates, bowls, spatulas, whisks, etc.) and I got a new cutting board for home because ours is lost (?????) We also made a fun trip to Sams where I got edamame, chewy vitamins and TP. And a book about snipers for the little one.

I have been very good about watching my shopping since Christmas but I did want another pair of skinny (ha) jeans to wear with my tall boots. I ran in to Old navy yesterday to try on a pair of theirs (I have not bought their jeans in years but I had heard some good things lately) I ended up with the Diva skinny jean. Not the best I have ever had but decent for $30. I also got this sweater for $7 on the clearance table:

(yes, I look like a bumblebee) Sweater-Old Navy, tank-Target, jeans-Silver, ribbon necklace-JCrew, bird necklace (from Mel for my birthday)- Fossil, watch-gift from hubs for Christmas

I watched the entire season of American Horror Story (on FX) in 3 days. Loved it!

Our tree is still up. Last to go up, last to go down I always say. And since I am very particular on how everything gets wrapped and stored, I get to do it on my own. All of the decor is all over the dining room table.

Last week our employees were nuts. I was dealing with their bickering and arguing and there were a couple of times I seriously considered getting my taser out of the car.

The elliptical machine is still in the hospital, aka, they ordered a part. By the time I get it, I will have lost interest.

One of the houses in my neighborhood caught fire last week. They were burning leaves on a windy, dry day and it got away from them. They were lucky to get out in time but the entire side and second story is gone. It took all of the area fire depts. 5 hours to put it out with the lack of hydrants and nearby water supply (we are out of the city limits) and then they had to go back that evening to spray it again. Since our entire neighborhood is filled with oak trees and leaves covering the ground, it could have been so much worse.

That's it for now.

New Years Eve

2012-01-08T11:19:00.000-06:00

The always classy "eyes shut and men's room behind us" shot

For the record, we were both sober.

Proof that I am still alive...

2012-01-06T00:12:00.000-06:00

I am here. Not really interested in blogging yet (but this is a blog post...) but I wanted to say that I am not huddled in the corner sucking my thumb and crying (at least not today)
Thank you for the amazing love and comments. My husband thinks I will get back to the blog sooner rather than later and feels like I am still as funny as ever (bleh)

I had a much needed hair appt. today.
Aveda has some new colors and I opted for a bright blue feather this time:

I also went shorter. About 2-3 inches in the back. Here I was yesterday:

I had the little one take this today. He thinks I am ridiculous. I wore my skinny (ha) jeans and birthday Uggs. It was 65 today so maybe it was a bit crazy. Love the boots. Love the jeans. Proof than non-skinny girls can still wear skinny (ha) jeans.

I also had a massage this evening. Heaven.
Maybe I can conquer the world....

2012-01-02T22:23:00.003-06:00

I am going to quit writing for a while, maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe forever.

First of all, I am in my usual winter mood and I am rarely, if ever, funny when I am in this stupid dark place.
It was mentioned to me that I post about shopping a lot, which I enjoy doing, and it sounds like I am bragging and have a lot of money in a time when people are struggling.
Someone else told me that I leave out some of the "real life" stuff that happens and only focus on the good.
I started this as a journal but there are personal things that I cannot write about because it would infringe on others privacy. There are other things I would like to say but they are not nice.

I will continue to read blogs as I have time.

I will say this: 2011 was both wonderful and horrible.
We got out of the franchise and re-named our business, we kept our heads above water in a crappy economy, we paid down some huge debts and went on a dream vacation to Hawaii. We made some great new friends and watched family buy new homes, get their lives back on track and get engaged.
We also had some family drama. My mother-in-law was diagnosed and died of cancer within 7 months time, we dealt with depression, debt and anger from a few family members. We let our house, yard and kids go while we went through all kinds of emotions and are just now reeling those things back in. Our oldest son quit school, moved back in/out/in again. My husband had his gallbladder out. I had my knees examined.

We have big plans in store for 2012.
We are going to remodel the restaurant (cosmetically) and do some changes to our house like flooring and cleaning bad areas (hello garage) along with finishing some projects I started a while ago.
We want to improve our work staff, lift their spirits and change their attitudes.
We want to get closer to the kids, spend more time with the dogs, work on the yard (leaves???) and enjoy our home more instead of trying to escape it.
My sister is getting married in March. I want to be involved in the planning and enjoy her special day.
We need to go through my MIL's house this spring and get rid of 35 years worth of junk.
I want to maintain our friendships and make new ones.
I want to have dinner parties and barbeques and get-togethers at our home.
Above all, I want to make my mom and MIL proud by keeping in touch with family and making sure everyone knows that they each have a special place and their place is as important as everyone elses.

Till later.......

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T18:37:00.001-06:00

Christmas in pictures.

We really had a nice Christmas despite the fact we were missing Mr. Funny's mom.
Everyone slept in, we had coffee, opened gifts, cleaned up and I started making pies and cheeseball while Mr. Funny vacuumed and ran a few errands.

The boys never made Santa a list so I picked everything out myself. I did very well, I must say. They got lots of clothes, pj's, cologne, shoes, socks, underwear, and gift cards. I found some great Civil War, and WW2 miniature soldiers and war books for the little one and a penguin hat for the big one. Mr. Funny found some adorable stuffed Little Monsters from Lady Gaga's shop for the big one (a huge Gaga fan!) and a Xbox controller and a Buckyballs cube for the little one.

The family gift was a new plasma tv for the basement, our old big screen was almost dead, and a gaming sofa with recliners on each side and cup holders. And a cabinet to put the tv on, it matches the entertainment center that is there. After all the gifts were opened, we sent the little one downstairs to put away some of his gifts and it was wrapped in front of the old tv.

Despite his calm demeanor, he was thrilled!

can you spot the root beer bottle? pigs!

I didn't take a single photo once our dinner guests arrived but we had 13 total.
The food was amazing! We made chicken piccata, mashed potatoes, spaghetti with buttered noodles (for the kiddos), french silk pie, coconut cream pie, key lime pie and roasted asparagus.
Everyone ate themselves silly and we spent hours talking afterward. My husband's friend, the deputy sheriff, brought his family and his 6 going on 30 year old daughter LOVED Finn. She kept begging for "the mean dog" to come in.

When the dogs finally did get to come in, they had dinner and zonked out. This was Finn's impression of Christmas:

*Yawn! Cwissmuss is exaustin' Mom and dad lock us out all day and no new presents to tear fluff out of. RUDE! (the punks did get lots of snacks and rawhide bones)

Whomever says my floor is dirty gets to come over and clean it because we have swept the floors every day this week, it has been muddy and I have had 5 dogs.

I forgot to post my wonderful gifts but that's ok.
I have some laundry to get caught up on before I leave for Tulsa tomorrow night.
I think we are going to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tonight.

Birthday

2011-12-26T17:46:00.000-06:00

My birthday.

I had a bad day (pms mixed with my own pity party- I was really missing both moms this year and I had an awful headache) and wasn't really in the mood to go out but we went anyway.

First, we stopped at the mall to do a little last minute Christmas shopping. I got these for my niece. (she loved them)

Since we had to send back my Ugg snow boots because neither pair were comfortable, Mr. Funny wanted me to try on some boots. I found the perfect pair but they had to order my size. Love them! They are made out of bomber jacket type leather.

We had sushi and steaks for dinner. I also had my Goose martini up, extra dirty, extra olives.

We went to Orange Leaf for fro-yo.

I had cheesecake, vanilla wedding cake and strawberry topped with Snickers, Reeses, cherries, chocolate chips and gummy worms.

2011-12-24T23:30:00.001-06:00

Mr. Funny watched The Sound of Music with me.
The entire bit of it. I usually lose him at the curtain scene. She grabs the drapes and ponders over new outfits for the children and Mr. Funny makes the escape.
I think he dozed a bit during a few songs but I am sure it was because he was so relaxed.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!
I wish you knew how much you mean to me. Your sweet comments, being able to make you laugh and bonding over the Internet about similar things.
Have a safe and beautiful day!!

A Loving Birthday Note from Funny's Sister

2011-12-23T12:57:00.001-06:00

So Funny - or as I call her on my blog, Big Sister - has asked me to guest post here today and I feel drunk with power. Or maybe I'm just drunk. Either way, it's a good feeling that leaves me tingly with anticipation and excitement.

Where to begin... I guess I will just say what my mom would always say about Funny.

Forty-two years ago today, labor began with a pain and a puddle (okay, those are my words). Funny's delivery was nothing short of traumatic and life-threatening, as both mom and the baby almost died. When Funny was finally forceped out of my mother (yes, 'forceped' is now a real word), the baby was blue and not good and mom was bleeding and not good. Once everyone was stitched and breathing, the doctor, shaken to his core, left the room and met my father in the hallway, saying, "Good lord. I almost killed them both in there."

And he never delivered another child again.

True story.

Funny's blue beginning speaks much of her later life, not only because she suffers from seasonal affective disorder, but also because she is the only blonde haired, blue eyed creature in a family full of dark hair and eyes.

Growing up, Mom always said it was because she was the milkman's kid, but no one was ever sure how much of that was facetiousness and how much was possibility. In our mother's non-adulterous defense, our maternal grandmother was very fair, blonde, and blue-eyed, so Funny is probably just a walking recessive gene.

As a small child, Funny desired nothing so much as attention. Really, that is a lifelong thing for her. When our brother came into the world, Funny was not pleased. One day when she was 2, while Mom was nursing our brother, Funny requested some apple juice but was told that she would have to wait until the baby was done eating. Displeased, Funny popped that baby on the top of his still-soft cranium full of dark brown hair and said, "Then eat, dummy!" I think this situation demonstrates a bit of foreshadowing into a future full of similar events, one in which she pushed me down a flight of stairs because I told her I didn't want her wearing my sassy new hair barretts.

Moving along. As an adult, Funny has grown into quite a woman. One of the best things about her, as all who read her know, is her humor.

Even when our mom was in the hospital during what would turn out to be her last days, one of her favorite things was to talk on the phone to Funny. No one in the world could amuse our mom quite like her. Mom loved her stories and her unique (embellished?) approach to storytelling.

When Funny would come to town for a visit, Mom would light up the entire time she was here. Mom was content to just spend time on the porch, glass of tea in hand, listening to Funny lament her life or tell story after story.

Luckily, before Mom left us, she was able to visit Funny's new (at the time) restaurant.

And while that restaurant may prove to be the death of our Funny, it does provide her with her favorite things in life: Coach purses, many lipsticks, new clothes, and UGG boots. Well, in fairness, she does love some other things too.

Her husband:

Her kids:

Her nephews:

Her drinks:

Her whole family together:

And, of course, her sisters and any family trips to Hawaii,

a cabin,

NYC,

or Eureka Springs.

So, on this day that precedes many other festivities, let's give a well-earned shout-out to Funny...

a crazy, funny, wonderful girl who, despite some rough beginnings for her and the four kids that would come after her, wears many, many hats. And wears them well.

42. Today. Me.

2011-12-23T10:56:00.000-06:00

I am trying to get Mel to do a guest post because I am so busy today.
I have to finish laundry, do all of the floors and generally straighten this disaster before everyone gets here for Christmas dinner Sunday night.

My husband and the boys are taking me to dinner tonight, I think sushi.

I also get a free cup of coffee from Starbucks and a free lotion from Sephora. I think I am just gonna pop my head in every store and tell them it is my birthday. Just to see what kind of swag I can get.
I also need to pick up a few more gifts and try on some Uggs. I have to exchange the ones my husband got me for my birthday and if I can find some in the store and try them on before i order them online, we can avoid having to send 2 pair back again.
And I need to deliver a few gifts too. And hand out the Christmas bonuses.

And mail a package because my Zulily order finally came yesterday. As did the Lady Gaga Little Monsters stuffed toys Mr. Funny ordered from Barneys. For a certain Gaga fan.

If my camera battery wasn't dead, I would show you that I put the effing tree up 2 nights ago. I wasn't singing or listening to Christmas music or drinking the nog either.
I was fussing and cussing with my PMS self (yes, Happy Birthday!) and the lights were stupid and I had to call Mr. Funny and have him go to Walgreens. I only put red and gold balls on it this year. And white lights.

My husband put my name on the marquee at work too and my name isn't common, only 2 of us in town (bizarre because growing up, I never heard of anyone else with my name and now I live in a small town and there are 2 of us), so we both will be hearing Happy Birthday all week.

Have a great Christmas if I don't talk to you sooner!!!!

Things I Did So Far This Week That Nobody Cares About

2011-12-21T20:06:00.002-06:00

put a stylish but comfortable outfit together 3 days in a row

fired an employee that I have ~~hated~~ ~~abhorred~~ strongly disliked since we bought the restaurant (technically my husband did the dirty work but I documented all her bad, bad doings and made it happen)

fell asleep in front of the fireplace 3 times (it is only Wednesday)

rsvp'd to a New Year's Eve party that I really do not want to go to but they are friends with Mr. Funny and I am a giver

remained in a relatively good mood despite the to-do list I have and the state of filth of my home

drove a BMW X5 (I never have- it was super fast and I liked it but I am keeping the Burb)

found a home for a puppy that needs a home (I think)

wrapped every present, without help, without much complaining (I detest wrapping)

got to play secret Santa for a few kids that could really use an extra gift like this:

dolls creep me out

went to a Christmas party that did not serve booze

wore skinny jeans and nobody laughed at me (in person)

braved Walmart the week before Christmas

got and then sent back a very cute pair of Uggs (birthday gift from hubby), actually 2 pair, because they hurt my feet- never has that happened with Uggs

took Molly to the groomer, she was disgraceful

still have not put up a tree, at this point, who cares?

prepared Christmas bonuses for employees

racked my brain trying to figure out where to go for my birthday dinner Friday night (sushi? steak? Italian?)

found a very large sum of money on the floor in front of the cash register at work, no idea who dropped it and it is in the safe, if nobody claims it in the next month, I am donating it

saw a dead body (in a coffin, it was a funeral visitation, not a fan of the viewing)

received 4 calendars, at work, stupid gifts

received large Hershey bar for birthday from a server, wonderful gift

got stressed out when I realized that before we can do some remodeling at work next month, I have to choose paint, wallpaper, vinyl for booths, new chairs, tables, new carpet and possibly tile, dear Lord help me

Later gators!

Lend me your ear. Either one is good.

2011-12-18T13:25:00.000-06:00

So many things to talk about.

Friday, I dragged my friend Bird (we shall call her that) to do a little necessary Christmas shopping at the lake. I had just a few items and I was going with or without her. She gave in because I am persuasive and I promised margaritas when we got back to town.
We started at the Coach store which is heaven for me and hell for the Bird. She doesn't understand why people pay that much for purses and wallets and coats. I don't understand her affinity for country music in the car. So many pretty, shiny things. I found a few things (not for me)while Bird went to Fossil.

Then we ventured to pick out some cologne for my husband.
Have you ever tried to find the perfect men's cologne? Daunting, is what it is.

673920538624 hours later, I had decided on 2 bottles and then if you spent a certain amount, you got to pick one for $15.00.
I also figured out how to pronounce Yves St Laurent.

The Gap was our last stop. I needed jeans and this is where I tell you that I broke my own rule. I tried on and then bought skinny jeans. They are a nice gray denim and are stretchy and are not so tight that I look like a bloated prostitute.

A longer top and some cute flats are in order here but these jeans are comfortable! Also? My hips are smaller in person. Ha!

I also found a pair of wide leg trouser jeans. And some things that aren't for me.
We went to my house and her husband picked us up for dinner (he was the driver, I never drink and drive) and hours later when I got home and unloaded my car? No cologne.
Of course they were closed and I was so sad after all that time and money spent down the tubes and all my husband had to say was "go back tomorrow and look for the bag and if you cannot find it buy more cologne"
I called first thing the next morning and she had found my bag and put it in the office.

One of my friends that I worked with years ago and who owns the restaurant where we go nearly every Saturday lost her brother, her only sibling, early Friday morning to a blot clot on his brain. Her 50th birthday was Saturday and Christmas just around the corner so it was devastating to her. She lost her mother a year before I lost mine in a freak car accident and her husband lost his mom last December and we lost my mom in Dec. 2007 and Mr. Funny's mom in October so we all just hung out and told stories and drank and looked at pictures. The bar (she owns) was packed and she had 3 cakes and lots of party goers but in the end, it was just a few of us at midnight.

In other news, the big one had told me he would be home for a visit in time for my birthday. He called me at work yesterday to tell me he was only 30 minutes away and needed to put a few things in my car because his friend was dropping him off (you remember we would not let him take his car)
My husband came up to work to drop off the paychecks and informed me that our son had "all of his stuff and needed to put it in the Suburban because there was a lot"
He came in to eat and asked if he could come back to work for us.
We are all together for the holidays and I cannot be more happy about this news. We will deal with all of the other crap later.

I got my birthday present early. Truthfully, the trip to Eureka was my present but my husband surprised me with these yesterday:

Snow boots.
I have a few pairs of Uggs but these are waterproof and perfect for snow. I think he is hinting that he needs help carrying wood from the back of the yard but he swears he read all of the reviews and spoke to a nice lady at Ugg and decided that these would be the best gift ever. Plus we are supposed to get a ton of snow this year.
They are gonna look very cute with my skinny jeans.

He also took next Friday night off so we could go to dinner on my birthday.

I invited a hodgepodge of people over for Christmas dinner. Our friends Bird and Woody, Mr. Funny's brother and his 3 kids, one of our cooks and his mother, our friend Greg who is going to Afganistan in a couple weeks and us. We are making chicken piccata, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and key lime and chocolate silk pie for dessert.

I hope you all had a nice weekend.
Have a great week!

I leave you with a beautiful song I heard this morning on Pandora.

2011-12-15T19:57:00.001-06:00

I have a mile long list of things that must get done this week so I will bullet this.

Still no tree. The box is up from the basement though. Baby steps.

The little one was using the leaf blower Sunday and spilled gasoline all over his good jeans and track jacket. I let them sit overnight in the garage to dissipate the fumes and then washed them. 4 times. Still stinky. I tried vinegar, baking soda and prayer. Back to the garage for a day. Another 2 washes. Done. I am sure there was a better way. Has this ever happened to you? I do know a magic way to get washed and dried gum out of the dryer drum though, if you care.

My basement is a disaster. I have delivery guys coming tomorrow and I am hoping the little one got some of the mess squared away.

We went to the furniture store today to pick out a piece for the basement. We are getting a new plasma tv for the media area (family gift) and it needs a stand. I found a very cool gaming sofa with recliners and cup holders. Had to get it and it was a closeout. Then I found a console table for the entryway. I talked the owner down and paid cash. There is also a beautiful chest I wanted for the living room. I didn't push my luck.

My sister changed her wedding date a few times. It is back to March 3rd. For real.

I have piles of bags stuffed in the corner of my bedroom and closet with stuff that has to be wrapped. I am procrastinating.

I am still waiting for 2 more packages to be delivered before I can mail gifts. Zulily, I am talking to you!

I mistakenly started watching Kourtney and Khloe take Miami on Netflix. Oh it is so bad it is good. My husband is disgusted with me for it.

I also started watching Grimm. Like I needed more shows to watch.

I am going shopping with a girlfriend tomorrow. Hopefully after that, I will be finished.

One of the outlet shoe stores in our local mall is closing and had their boots and shoes marked down to $9.99. I got 4 pair. This brings the grand total of shoes I have bought in the past 7 days to 8 pair. In my defense, they were all seriously on sale. I did have to return the Born boots I posted a few weeks ago because the zipper broke the first step I took. I exchanged them for some brown loafers.

One of the shoe stores in Eureka, Crazy Bones, has their inventory marked to half price the weekend we are there every year. I tried on a pair of Cushe loafers and they are amazing. I got these:

The little one sings the praises of these shoes. He is on his 2nd pair and I will warn you that they are usually $100 but he wears them until they fall apart (they haven't yet) They are Reebok Zigs. I was looking at Finish Line online for a pair of Lego shoes for my nephew and stumbled on these for half price. I also got the little one a pair for half price. I wore mine today and they are so comfortable. The ones I got said "price reflected in shopping cart" and I was shocked to see how inexpensive they were. Here is the link if you are interested in a great sale!

I am not going to post all of the others. You will die of boredom.

I wore a scarf to work yesterday and one of our older customers asked me if it was a style or if I had a sore throat. I pretended to cough on his breakfast.

I need to get going, my motivation level is dropping fast!

2011-12-13T16:34:00.001-06:00

Dear Anthropologie,
When I ordered a beautiful sweater from you last week, I was so happy.
I was disappointed when you said it would be back ordered.
Today I found out it is no longer available.Not back ordered like you said. Unavailable.
You suck. A lot.
Merry effing Christmas.
Signed,
A really unhappy customer.

Sisterpalooza 2011

2011-12-12T14:29:00.001-06:00

Good Monday morning!
Lots to do so I will leave you with our Eureka Springs weekend in pictures.

Friday-
DeVito's restaurant

Eureka Live- Our favorite bar

Saturday-
Mud Street Cafe

Grilled cheese.....Pumpernickel rye bread, provolone, Swiss, cheddar, sliced mushrooms, fresh spinach, sunflower seeds and sprouts. I had it for lunch both days.

Shopping

Thorncrown Chapel

My sister is planning to get married here

We had dinner here.

Drinks upstairs at the bar

Our room was right next to the spa

The bar closed at 11. We went back to our room to go to bed early. We decided to take some pictures of the Christmas lights.
We took photos outside. It was freezing cold.
And we are ridiculous.

Mel thought she saw a ghost

She was scared so I had to console her....

But then we both saw something shiny....

Deb decorated the tree.....

I helped too. Mel is insane

Can you find Mel?

Breaking rules.

Re-creating the Beatles walk

After we decorated the tree, we got the rest of the place fixed up.

Emulating the dude in the middle

W.T.H.????

We walked around a while to warm up. Somehow we ended up back at Eureka Live. This was only halfway down the stairs. My knee was dying!

This guy only had eyes for Mel. Fortunately, she likes older men. We did not, I repeat, did not drink the Jager bombs.

Sunday-
These folks were just marred. I was tempted to go to the store for spray paint. I feel sad for them.

We shopped a bit more and checked out a room my sister is interested in for her wedding night (insert bow chica wow wow music) We were told to please NOT use the facilities. Mel does not like rules. Or put the seat down.

Room #1 (my favorite) It has a balcony looking out over the historic district.

Room #2 had a beautiful garden area in the back

One Last Post Before the ......wait for it.........LEGENDARY ......weekend!!!!

2011-12-09T01:47:00.001-06:00

I have a long post to write and zero energy so bear with me.

First of all, today is the 4th anniversary of my mom's death. It never gets easier but time passes and things change and you learn to live with a new normal. What makes it worse is that neither my husband or I have mother's on earth anymore.

We had to leave the house early to drive to the city for Mr. Funny's surgery follow-up appointment. He is just fine. No problems with eating, pain or infection.

He dropped me off at the mall to do a bit of Christmas shopping.
I did have some luck but I am nowhere near what I would call finished.

The girls (my sister's and I) all bought for each other this year and the 5 guys drew names. Mr. F got Mel's husband and knew exactly what he was getting him. This was good news and did not involve me in the least. He picked up the gift while I was at the mall.

Before we headed home, I stopped at the dog bakery because today was Kona and Neko's birthday. I think they are 6 but maybe they are 7. They got iced doggie cookies and I got one for all of them. Neko and Finn got the one's that had Naughty written on them and Kona got the Nice one. Molly and Skip's were iced reindeer.

While I was cookie shopping, Mr. F was at the jewelry store a few rows down looking for a gift for me. I crashed his party and was quickly distracted by the shiny things. After I gave him a few ideas of what I liked, the owner said to wait while she went to the back to get "some fun things"
She brought out a black box with about 16 rings in it. They looked like costume jewelry, like the QVC today's special value diamonique rings my mom used to buy for $29.99 for fun.
Yeah.
They were real. Diamonds.
Like I have never seen the likes of and certainly never had the guts to try on.
Example:

This one was an estate piece. It was $49,000.
Looks good on my finger.

This one. I looked at the tag and told my husband it was only $9,800. She corrected me. It was $98,000.
It was also spoken for. A nice gentleman who loves his girlfriend is picking it up tomorrow. She is gonna be doing all kinds of jumping up and down on Christmas when he proposes. A ring like that deserves all kinds of ~~sexual favors~~ fanfare.

Sadly, this one was too small. I was going to get it sized but then I came back to reality and saw that it was $215,000.

And since you had to look at my horrific cuticles and chipped nails, I will have you know that I am getting a manicure tomorrow morning. I am even getting my nails painted.

In case you are interested, all sweaters at Anthropologie.com are 50% off through Saturday.
I picked up these 2 and I will be sure my husband wraps them for me.

I have been drooling over this one for a while. I am so thrilled to get it for half off!

Love the navy stripes!

I saw this the other day, it just really summed up my relationship with my husband.

Tomorrow I leave for Sisterpalooza 2011.
My husband thinks that is a dumb name. See above.

I sent this to Mel the other day. I am pretty sure she loved it.

I have my gifts wrapped, my lists made and liver is prepared for the weekend.
I hope it is everything we hope it will be: relaxing, fun, crazy.

My husband said he hopes he doesn't get a phone call from the Eureka Springs police dept. asking him to please come retrieve his wife because she tasered someone/ fell over drunk in the street and tumbled down the steep stairs/ got into a fistfight over a really cute pair of boots on sale/ peed her pants laughing and froze to the cobblestone street/ or saw a ghost at the haunted hotel we are staying at and began screaming and blubbering incoherently.

Let the giving begin......

2011-12-07T19:46:00.001-06:00

When I got in my car after work today, this was sitting on the floor of the passenger side.

The rule made by me (after an unfortunate Salad Shooter incident many years ago) is as follows:

Appliances do not count as Christmas or birthday gifts. Same rule with things that have to be plugged in.

But my husband is crafty.

He knows how I love my other Dysons.

He understands my never-ending battle with hair of dogs (not to be confused with the hair of the dog)

He feels my pain of vacuuming stairs ~~now that he has finally tried it~~

He is tired of being harassed and chased around by the tumbleweeds of dog hair ~~since I haven't properly cleaned well since I was sick last week.~~

Tomorrow is the 4 year anniversary of my mom's death and I usually get "feel better" or sympathy gifts on those occasions.

This has no cord- just a charger.

It is shiny and purple.

Next week we will discuss how cold my feet get in the winter .... (ha)

2011-12-05T23:35:00.001-06:00

I am really glad that you all loved and drooled over my dining room decor.
Because.
The rest of my house is a shambles.
So I just cruise into the dining room 1,273 times a day to inhale the beauty so I can walk through the other rooms while tumbleweeds of dog hair chase me.
I was sick last week, ok? And very little, if any cleaning got done.
And I work the next 2 days and then we have to go to the city to haul my husband in for his follow-up gallbladder removal appointment. And a bit of Christmas shopping.
My husband hates shopping. Christmas shopping with him makes me mad. No lingering with a peppermint mocha to see the pretty lights and hear the festive songs. Nope. Just a mad dash through ONLY CHOSEN STORES to get exactly what we need and nothing else.
This makes me sad.

This weekend I will be shopping with my sisters.
And eating and drinking but we have decided to mostly pass on the eating and in the words of my sister D (in white)

Yep, you heard it here.
I think I meant to say "Saturday high 45 Low 28"

Remember when I posted these boots?

Well, I found/bought some today that are similar and half the price!

Does anyone else have terrible, dry winter skin? I try to put lotion on every day, but I get busy and then I itch.
To the point of drawing blood sometimes.
I got some of this today:

And this also.

I will let you know how they do.

I'm out for now.

I started decorating......

2011-12-03T23:49:00.002-06:00

Dining room. Check.

Sideboard

Table ( minus napkins and flatware)

Table (plus orbs which are obviously ghosts because this room was NOT dusty)

China cabinet

Espresso cup- love him

Lenox winter china = ♥

Husband (who loves photos) = ♥♥♥♥

2011-12-03T12:51:00.000-06:00

Play along. Ok?
1. Do you send Christmas cards? If so about how many will you send this year? How do you display the cards you receive? Or don't you? (gasp!) I used to. I would send like 100. Then it got to be a pain (and expensive) so I only sent cards to the people who sent them to me the previous year. Now that the boys won't pose for family photos and my urge for the family letter (which always sounds pretentious) has dissipated, I am done. We do get some cards though.

2. When do kids become adults? when they can successfully live on their own without the help of parents, we are not there yet

3. Does your 'beauty regimen' change with the seasons? My skin is much drier in the winter so I use Aveda tinted moisturizer on top of regular moisturizer. I also wear a lot more blush as I am snowflake white.

4. What's something you like to eat that might cause another person to turn up their nose? Black olives right out of the can dipped in Italian dressing? Escargot? Oysters?

5. Gloves or mittens? gloves, my husband insists on buying me very nice ones every year but I lose them so Target gloves it is.

6. What's the longest queue you've ever been in? Was it worth it? Queue=line but doesn't queue sound nicer? the line at the Statue of Liberty (3 hours) and the line to get a table at Serendipity 3 in NYC (same day) (3 hours in the cold) The kids were ticked but I was happy so there.

7. Besides Christmas, what is one thing you are looking forward to in the month of December? our annual sister's trip, this year it is in Eureka Springs and my birthday which kind of gets lost in the Christmas festivities, and my oldest son joining us for Christmas

8. Insert your own random thought here. I am still sick and I am hoping to be fully well by next weekend. I promised Mr. Funny I would go to the doctor Monday. He is irked with me because I told him I was well enough to go to work today (he asked me 10 times last night if he needed to go in for me) and then wasn't so he had to go in. He planned to do leaves today which he isn't supposed to do (lifting the bagger) until after his re-check so I am just following the doctors orders since I know if he was home and I was at work, he would be breaking rules.
Longest sentence ever.

2011-12-02T13:20:00.011-06:00

I have been under the weather these past few days, and by that I mean sick as a dog.
It started with a little cough and headache and yesterday it had moved into my sinuses. I slept till 2pm yesterday and then took some stuff to cope and ended up getting a few things done around this dump.

The little one has been sick since Thanksgiving. I assumed it was a virus so I let it go and made him go to school with Advil in his pocket but finally took him to the doctor on Wednesday. The doctor did a strep test which was negative and told me that it was indeed a virus. A 10 day virus. He said to give him Afrin at bedtime for 6 nights and to neti-pot after the Afrin kicks in to clear out the junk. Then Nyquil for sleep. The Nyquil knocked him out and he overslept yesterday and missed first block. He felt better though and last night he was making beeg plans for the weekend.
I took Nyquil Wednesday night and almost barfed it up but somehow kept it down. I haven't slept that well in ages, sadly, I slept all day anyway.

I was able to have coffee today and get a little computer time in but really, I have too much to do.
My husband had an early haircut and a million errands so I spent the morning on the phone with an old friend and got the house Cloroxed to kill the many germs.

I still don't have any urge to get Christmas decor out. The bins in the basement require heavy lifting and the husband cannot lift until after his re-check appt. on the 8th, I am not lifting with my bad knees and the little one has been sick so we DO have excuses.

I did manage to get a few gifts ordered for my sisters. We are doing a girl exchange and a boy exchange so I am done with my part but still need to help hubby with his part.

Next weekend is our trip to Eureka. We are passing on the spa stuff this year to save $$. Just some eating, drinking and shopping. I cannot wait!!!

Finn took a little dip in the pond this morning because he is a punk. It is cold outside, for crying out loud.

The big one informed me that he would be home for Christmas and even my birthday (the 23rd) so I am excited for that.

I am loving this little ditty. Am I the only one who thinks Adam Levine from Maroon 5 is way hott?

Have a nice weekend!

i am simply too lazy for a title

2011-11-30T00:13:00.002-06:00

i found 3 (only 3) photos from thanksgiving in my camera.
excellent.

let's discuss:
a.) yes, my husband is wearing latex gloves (only once did he snap them on and say "bend over!")
b.) i don't know if it is the salmonella germs or the fear of grease but he washed his hands before and after the gloves so....anyway..... he put on a new pair each time he basted the bird
c.) it was a turkey breast so my husband made sure to mention that it was just a headless, legless turkey. duh. he seemed very disconcerted by this.
d.) next year we are going to do the entire turkey. gloves will probably still be worn.

vegetables. plastic platter.
i have really nice china platters but this one has dividers, for crying out loud.

cheeseball. yum.
my side has nuts. husband's doesn't.

i have been kind of sick the past few days. not full-blown sick. just sore throat, achy, a little bit of a cough and slight fever. NOT THE FLU husband who wants me to get a damn flu shot. i did come home a few hours early to rest. i have also switched from coffee to earl gray, which i do when sick.

our friend is back in the hospital. he went in Saturday afternoon with chest pains and they found fluid around his heart again. his oncologist thinks the cancer might be back. he is having surgery tomorrow to find out for sure. i met with his wife for a late dinner tonight and she was trying to be positive.

my sister picked a wedding date. march 3rd. yea!

i finally got some ideas for gifts for my nieces and nephews. i keep hearing from people that are completely done shopping. to those people i say "bite me"

this month we have been working on paying down some debt. we paid the big one's car off. we are going to pay off a big chunk of our immense business debt. ugh.

my husband is having a lot of fun playing with his new iphone. he likes to facetime me when he is downstairs and i am up. facetime is never flattering. maybe i always have those dark circles under my eyes and a haggard look. he did put new software on my prehistoric iphone to enlarge my texting letters. also, my texts pop up at the top of my screen now. it doesn't take much to amuse me.

i am going to advil-robitussin-heating pad myself to bed now. nite nite.

2011-11-26T22:54:00.000-06:00

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful.
Everything came together nicely and there were 5 of us in the end.
Amazing food, good wine and interesting conversation. My husband's brother and a friend of ours, who is going to Afganistan in January to train Afgan police and works for the Department of Defense.
I am really concerned for his safety as these people will turn on Americans for very little money but he is better off there than in Iraq where diplomatic immunity is no longer practiced (meaning there is no protection for our military or civilians and they can be held as POW's indefinitely)

We were in bed by 10 pm and up at 4:30 am so we could be in the city by 6:30 this morning for Mr. Funny's gallbladder surgery.
Everything went well with his surgery and recovery and he was feeling great which meant he got to annoy and torture the nurses and aides whenever possible.
While he was in surgery, I took a little trip to Target ~~because I am insane~~ to see if there was anything I could not live without. The store really wasn't too bad at 8am and I was able to find a few things but it got crazy around 9:15 and I was out of there.

We made it home, ran a few errands and I took a nap and while I was sleeping, my husband went to work to make sure everything went well today. He was told he needed to walk around a bit to help the air in his belly work its way out. He broke some rules beginning with driving (the meds were out of his system by then) lifting a heavy box (he got busted by an employee) and overdoing it and then he insisted on meeting our friends for dinner (he ate very bland, healthy food) and drinks (not him) and buying an iPhone 4.
At some point during dinner, he coughed and loosened a stitch in his navel and blood seeped through his shirt so I ended the gallbladder removal party and we went home. I called my sister's boyfriend, who is a nurse, and after talking to Mr. Funny, he confirmed that my ridiculous husband would be fine.
I allowed him to finish payroll, eat some pie and play a bit with the new phone but he is sitting down, watching a movie and relaxing FINALLY!

I am going to bed now. It is exhausting trying to keep an eye on a grown man who cannot sit still.
Apparently, losing an internal organ doesn't faze him, whereas if I get a painful hangnail, I take to my bed.

What I am thankful for today, by Funny

2011-11-23T16:48:00.001-06:00

I had an exciting post planned (no I didn't) but I am exhausted from working all day and I have lots to do.

I am thankful for:
* my wonderful husband who works hard every day and rarely complains ~~unless I spend too much money~~
* my 16 year old, who did a lot of prep work for our meal and then went to work to cook some more ~~which he grumbled about a little bit because he said the small potatoes he had to peel were "stupid"~~
* my 21 year old, who moved out on his own and is doing his best to become a great adult ~~which prevented me from kicking him out and/or strangling him.~~ I am a little irked that he cannot be with us for dinner for the first time in 21 years because he works in retail.
* fantastic vacations and getaways ~~that make all the rest of the time worthwhile~~
* Pandora, for providing me with just the right ratio of holiday music/ dance music/ easy listening/ depending on my sanity level
* iPad/iPod/iPhones- iLove them all
* my 4 dogs who provide me with blog material and love us unconditionally ~~even though they are outside barking nonstop and are getting dangerously close to being hit with a flying potato or 6~~
* my other family members (in Jersey and Tulsa), who have to celebrate without us this year ~~and who are probably thankful for this~~
* my employees and customers, ~~who have almost driven me to homicide a few times~~ but without them, we could not run a successful restaurant in this ~~shitty~~ economy
* cheeseball, which makes the angels sing and my arse expand
* vodka
* yoga pants and slippers, which I am presently wearing
* my knee not hurting ~~too much~~ today
* all of my wonderful friends who live in my computer that I get to visit with every day and all of my real life friends as well
* coffee
* sisters, who will hold your head when you puke ~~if you drink too much~~ and tell you when your wrinkles are getting bad
* in laws, who really probably don't care a lot for you but have to pretend for the sake of the family
* moisturizer, it is so cold and dry today
* lipgloss
* internet access (what did we used to do???)
* deodorant, yes
* my gallbladder, which I get to keep but my husband's is coming out at 6:30 am Friday
* a warm, safe home, vehicles that run ~~and guzzle gas like it was free,~~ my and my families health ~~which is not to be confused with mental health,~~ a job, the ability to pay our bills, and a really comfy bed ~~that I wish I had time to take a quick nap in~~
* God, who is last but never least, who I give all of my heavy loads to and who always seems to show me the way even when I don't understand everything he gives me

Have a safe, yummy Thanksgiving and I hope you don't have to stick your hand up a dead turkeys ~~ass~~ hiney
I don't.

It is freezing outside and I have to go hunt for cheese

2011-11-21T14:15:00.001-06:00

We are on our way out for the day to pick up some last minute things for Thanksgiving, namely the cheese for the cheeseball which is at a store an hour away.
Our family has the best cheeseball recipe ever, dating back to Minnesota 1970- one of my mother's fellow nursing school friends.
Here are some randoms:

If we are Facebook friends, you know that my husband bought my sister Mel and I pink tasers at the gun show yesterday. He showed me how to use it and it is so loud, Finn damn near hit the ceiling and bounced off.
Mel's friend was concerned about Mel with a taser. She said she would start saving for bail for her.

A few people asked why the big one isn't coming for dinner Thursday. He has 2 retail jobs at the mall in St. Louis and has to work at midnight. We did invite him.

There are only going to be 3 of us plus my husband's brother. With my family not being here and my MIL gone, it is going to be a very hard week. I am trying to make the best of it for the little one but last night when he asked how many people were going to be here from Tulsa and I told him none, he was visibly upset. I tried to explain to him how hard it was for everyone to get together this year but he went upstairs to bed.

We had a little scare last week when we tried to book our sister's weekend hotel. Online said there were no rooms at either hotel we wanted but when Mel called, they had one with a king bed. Since I have a king, I know 3 of us can share but I will bring my airbed just in case. We like to get our hotel right in the shopping/historic district so we can drink and not have to drive and when we have lots of shopping bags, we can drop them at the room as needed.

We went to see Breaking Dawn last night. It was maddening because people were talking loudly, crunching their food and bags, and texting throughout the movie. I had to shoot a few dirty looks which worked for the idiot man behind us who was not using his indoor voice. I eventually blocked them all out and got into the movie but I felt like the book was better.

I love these quilted Uggs. They are definitely on my list.

These too!

Off we go, have a great week!!

2011-11-20T11:21:00.001-06:00

I am finally home from work and I have a few important things to say.

Why is it that anyone and their brother can be in our town's Christmas parade? You have a plumbing business? You are in, grab a plunger and carry a hairball.. A trash company truck? Put a big red bow on it and go get em. A tiny horse? Heck yeah!
If I was in charge (and I am sure that will never happen, to the sighs of relief from the townfolk), you would have to have some sort of a float.
My favorite was the Christmas Vacation float, complete with charred tree and 2 story replica house covered in a million lights. All that was missing was Christie Brinkley in the pool.

This was big news in People magazine. Yes, I read People. And US Weekly. It is important to know what is going on. Pippa parted her hair in the middle. Wowzers!

I hate her eyeliner on the bottom, she doesn't care but I think she could do better, after all, she is going to hanging with royalty. She needs to keep the glasses on more often or get more sleep.

My husband was a huge help at work today. My knee was bothering me and he showed up right before the parade started which was when the restaurant filled up (we are right on the main street of the parade route)
Then we emptied out and filled up again. I have never seen (or heard) so many kids. Too much stimulation for me.

He went to the gun show and I went home. On my way home, he called to ask me if I wanted a taser. I told him it was tempting but at some point, someone is going to get tased and it could be HIM. It is just better for all involved if those type of weapons are kept away from easily irritated people.

The band was first in line in the parade. I made sure to yell out the little one's name during a break between songs. He smiled but never turned his head. He loves his mommy. Hopefully he didn't get beat up after they got back to school.

We are meeting our friends for dinner tonight.

I think we are going to see this tonight:

Um, yeah.

Ok, now it is Sunday and I started this yesterday and got busy.

We went to dinner with our friends and then back to their house to watch a movie which was awful (it was some kind of mall cop with the guy from that show where he worked for a UPS-like place) and I think my husband is going to buy her iPhone 4 because it is almost new and she wants the 4 S.
And I also want the 4 S because I am fascinated with the Siri feature and I want to take super great photos.

That is all I have.

I need to finish my last minute Thanksgiving list for the 4 people we are feeding.
Also, I am going to start watching Christmas shows so I can get into the spirit and out of this funk. I shall start with Elf.

2011-11-18T23:08:00.001-06:00

2011-11-17T22:05:00.000-06:00

I adore getting my hair done.
Between the scalp and hand massages, catching up on everything going on that I have missed, drinking Aveda tea and transforming from a troll to a princess troll, I am worn out.

My usual stylist was not able to get me in when I needed her so I made an appt. with the other one there that I equally love. I think I like this one more, so much that I made my next appt. with her as well. The lesson learned is that you do not screw around with my hair appt.
I went back to highlights instead of all-over color this time. She added some lowlights also to give it some dimension.

I came home and immediately put it in a pony. I had to do laundry and those crazy curls were everywhere.

We also have a return of the purple feather. Never miss an opportunity to put a bird on it.

I met my husband for lunch right after my ~~3 hour~~ appointment.
He was at work in the office on the phone and things were not looking promising for the care and feeding of my stomach.
He was on the phone, an extra cell we keep at home for emergencies ~~like when certain boys drop their phones on Dr. Pepper~~ and had a Duracell box in front of him.
He had bought a car charger for his iPhone and shortly after plugging it in, the phone started getting hot. Then it died. By the time I met him at work, the phone had been off the charger for 30 minutes and was still almost too hot to hold. And still dead.

You can imagine my delight at spending most of our lunch date with him alternating between our cell carrier, Apple and Duracell.

Speaking of things that are dead, my elliptical machine does not work. It pedals and the arms move but when you plug it in to program it, plug the iPad or iPod into it or set the speeds or resistance, it does nothing. We are working on replacing it. I worked out on it for 20 minutes last night and it is a great workout. I had to pedal for 4 minutes and then rest for 1 lest I risk dropping dead. Unlike riding a bike, the body does forget how to exercise.

My sister is still trolling around NYC. She said it was raining and the peeps were practically putting out eyeballs with their pointy umbrellas plus her legs were tired of walking. I felt her pain, literally.

The other day, my husband, knowing my love of the Range Rover, sent me a video of this:

It is a Range Rover Evoque.
He thought it looked like something I would like.
He liked the way it handled, how well it drove blah, blah, blah.
My specifications are simple. I want to sit up high, have heated seats, good speakers with satellite radio and a clean interior. I need a sunroof and lots of room for stuff, re: a center console big enough to put a dead midget in. And all of the crap I carry around (water, snacks, Zyrtec, Advil, notebook, pens, sunglasses, lipgloss, change, lotion and a brush)
Let's be clear that I am not getting this car. Not anytime soon. But it is worth a test drive.

The official number now for Thanksgiving is 4 (and only one of my children is going to be here unless the big one surprises me)
This is a ridiculous number as we have never had less than 10 but we will slog through it. Mr. Funny is going to help me with everything and we might use the everyday dishes instead of the hand wash china.

Peace out.

Happy Wednesday

2011-11-16T18:37:00.007-06:00

This week so far......

Went to the doctor yesterday. He looked at my knee, poked it, squeezed it, bent it. Then he did the same to the other one. "You have bad knees" he said.
Yeah.
He did not recommend surgery, said it only leads to more surgery. He did tell me to exercise, eat healthy and lose weight.
Yeah.
He said to wear better shoes, strengthen my upper and lower legs to support my knees better and don't run or even walk (for exercise, I HAVE to walk some). Aerobic exercise, pilates and yoga, swimming, biking,etc. He said to take Advil as needed but not to exceed 2,400 mgs. a day.

We bought an elliptical machine today.
I am going to see the specialist at a later time and get an MRI but I will try the other stuff first.

I finally have my hair appt. tomorrow. It has been way too long. They could not get me in when it was good for me. I am going back to highlights and lowlights. No more all over color.

Ponytail day

We picked a date for sister's weekend in Eureka Springs. I am so ready.

These are seriously good. And chocolate and fruit are both good for you. That punk doctor should be proud of me.

Had a Skinny Peppermint Mocha yesterday. Yum!

My sister got engaged yesterday. In Central Park. Congratulations D and T!!!!

I have been home for 2 hours and Molly has been barking the entire time. I want to grab the spatula and beat her with it. I won't though.

Do I need words?
Sooo excited.

Not excited enough to sit in a crowded theater with people a third of my age. I shall wait til next weekend.

It is cold. Really cold. I hate the cold.

The big one moved out. Halloween weekend he went to a party with friends and called to say he was staying there. He had a small duffel bag and little money. He said if he came home he would never leave . He had an audition (singing) at a college and jobs at both Express and Aldo. Both of these jobs require nice clothing so I have no idea what he has been wearing and he hasn't called. For a few days I was devastated. Then I told God I was putting it in His hands and I moved on. His car is still here (he doesn't get it since we pay for it) and he is coming here tomorrow to pick up his clothes. We have gotten back into a routine around here and it has been peaceful with him gone so I wish him the best but he is 21. He will either succeed or fail.

After a really good day, I came home to this:

No, Kim was not in my house. She WAS in my mailbox.
Barf.
That entire band of idiots annoy me. How are they so famous??

Then I see this ad a few pages into my magazine:
Kardashian Kolors nail polish.

Top row, left to right: All Kendall-ed Up, Sealed with a Kris, Kim-pletely In Love, Khloé Had a Little Lam-Lam, Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi, Rainbow in the S-kylie. Bottom row, left to right: Disco Dolls, Listen to Your Momager!, Wear Something Spar-kylie, It's All About the Glam, Follow Me on Glitter, Kendall on the Katwalk, My Empire... My Rules.
Gag me.

Ok I just gave too much blog time to idiocy.

I bought these Monday:

Size Matters

Bobbing For Baubles

Congeniality Is My Middle Name

I have a sickness.

I am off to do some constructive stuff.

Funny's Friday Fabulousness (yeah, you know it)

2011-11-11T15:36:00.000-06:00

It's Friday!

First I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of our Veterans.
My husband was in the Navy, my uncle (a bombs specialist who dismantled explosives for many years) and grandfather were as well. My father in law was a Marine who served in Korea and Vietnam and my husband has many cousins who devote their time to National Guard and special forces units throughout the world.

Yesterday, I had lunch with my husband at our restaurant and we were talking to a couple of our servers about Thanksgiving plans. I mentioned that we were going to go ahead and cook for the few that would be here (we invited my husband's brother) so at this time there will either be 4 or 5 of us total.
One of the servers was going to the grocery store to pick up a turkey breast for her Thanksgiving. I asked her to check to see how many turkey breasts they still had left because I was planning to do a little shopping for our meal. When she returned from the store, she set a turkey on our table and said it was her gift to us.
She bought us an 11 lb. turkey breast! She would not let me pay her (punk!) so I informed her that she would be "gotten back" when I could get her. Now I need a ham and all the rest of the stuff.
My husband had to run to the store for some degreaser and things for work and I sent the day manager home and said I would work until Mr. Funny got back. It was slow but just seating a few people and taking money plus paying the day shift their tips was enough for my stupid knee and by the time my hubby returned, I was in agony. I barely made it to my car and by the time I got into the seat of the Suburban (it was comical to see) I had made the decision that it was way past time to make a doctors appointment.
The orthopedic surgeon who did both of my husband's knees couldn't see me until Dec. 8th!!
My husband called HIS doctor (mine moved away a couple of years ago and I do not have one) but he was off.
So I wondered how the hell I am going to make it a month.
First thing this morning, the doctors office called to tell me I had an appt. Monday morning. I don't know if he is going to do the x rays himself or refer me back to the surgeon (where I still have an appt.) but I am willing to try anything at this point.

I went home and took 5 Advil (yes, 5) and sat on my butt with the heating pad on my knee for hours while I caught up on some shows.
When the Advil kicked in, I made a big batch of chili, washed some towels and did the tiniest bit of cleaning.

This morning, I got up and felt fine so I started washing sheets, cleaning the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, and had my coffee.
I remembered that my friend/neighbor had her hysterectomy earlier in the week so I split half the chili with her, threw some crackers and shredded cheese in the bag and made her a quick (cut and bake) batch of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Mr. Funny delivered them to her house.

I made it 2 hours before my knee felt like it was ready to give out so back to the Advil and heating pad for me.
My goal is to get the dining room set for fall, get all of the laundry put away (it is piled to the ceiling on the chair in my bedroom), get the floors done (with much help from the little one) and go to bed early so I can work tomorrow. My husband offered to work for me but I will do it myself. If all of my staff show up this week (last week I was down a server and my busser went home sick so it was crazy!) I will be able to spend some time in my office between the busy times.

We have plans with some friends for dinner and drinks tomorrow night.

I am also trying to plan a trip with my sisters for girls weekend in December to celebrate my birthday, do some shopping and have our spa time in Eureka Springs. The lemongrass sage full body scrub, eye treatment and pedicure I had last year at the crescent hotel was... wait for it.... LEGENDARY!
We also found some great gifts while shopping and of course the eating, drinking and dancing (wow, we were bad dancers) are still fresh in my mind.
I don't know how things are going to go with my knee so the dancing might be out (I am sure the locals will appreciate this bit of good news!)

Have a great weekend!

Midweek

2011-11-09T22:18:00.010-06:00

In my effort to blog more, I am going to end up with some really boring posts.
This will be one of them.

The last few nights, I have been taking 2 Advil and an Advil pm and sleeping with the heating pad on my knee. Since it is the kind you heat in the microwave, I have to get up and go downstairs every so often to nuke it. Going up the stairs is painful enough but going DOWN is agony. Last night I got my jammies on, teeth brushed, face washed, lubed up on moisturizer, and settled in for my date with the heating pad. I had forgotten my stupid regular Advil (I keep the pm's upstairs but I only take one or I am groggy in the morning) which were downstairs in my purse. At this point, I was almost in tears. Back downstairs, back upstairs. Now the heating pad isn't very hot anymore. Back down again. A smart person would have used the regular electric heating pad but I don't want to bend it around my knee, possibly severing a wire and shocking the crap out of myself. I entertained the thought of getting a microwave for the bedroom, bringing the small fridge up from the basement to fill with cold beverages like beer and vodka, training the dogs to use the microwave and bring me things on command and/or hiring a full time cabana boy. I will check with my husband on these things.

A visit to the doctor is sounding easier.

I bought this Monday.

Chinchilly

I really wanted this one too, next time.

Bobbing For Baubles

Monday night I trimmed and filed my nails, applied cuticle oil and used my Aveda foot relief with some thick socks over my feet to let the lotion do its job. My feet look great but still no polish. It is too hard to bend my knee to paint my toenails. My cuticles look awesome though.
I tried to get Mr. Funny to let me give him a man-icure. Just a nail buffing, some filing and cuticle oil.

He refused.

The little ~~spoiled rotten~~ one got a present from daddy today.

I think of it as preparation for the military

We have a strict "no video games on school nights" rule so that's going to be torture for him.

In a feeble attempt to drive my husband insane, I did a teensy bit more online shopping (I used Ulta this time, free shipping with $25 purchase, sorry Sephora). In my defense, I was out of Happy and that makes me sad.

Each is only .24 oz.

I think my husband has ~~coerced~~ convinced me to make Thanksgiving dinner here instead of a.) going out to the fancy-pants place and letting them do all of the work or b.) going to our friends' house and hanging out with them and their extended family. This displeases me but I know I can do it and I am going to take it as a challenge. Also, I am going to be reimbursed for my efforts. I already know what the exchange will be. I guess I will be ham and turkey shopping tomorrow. Since I have never cooked either, I am going to rely on the internet for help. And probably liquor. And since my husband was a bartender when we met, I am going to depend on his drink master skills to assist me.

On a related note, my husband has presented to me, the idea of opening our restaurant on Thanksgiving Day next year (we are usually closed) for a few hours and serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal to the less fortunate. We are still at the brainstorming stage but he likes the idea of asking some local well-known people to help serve, asking for volunteers to cook (our cooks, and of course they will be paid) and seeing if our food purveyors will give us some good deals on the food items and possibly getting donations from local grocery stores. Our community has always taken very good care of our business and the need here (as it is most everywhere anymore) is great. It would be so wonderful for families with no place to go or resources to provide for their families to be able to join us for a nice meal and for us to donate our food and our time. Our only concern is that if we do it once, we will feel obligated to continue every year and I am not sure if that will be possible. My mother in law had asked us to please try to make it to New Jersey every few years for the holidays but again, the 4 dogs kind of put a damper on that idea. My brother in law did offer to take the dogs (he lives at my mother in laws house now) if we went out of town but we will not leave him alone during the holidays (his 3 kids are always with their mother on Thanksgiving) so we are staying put and of course he can come have dinner with us.

I need to try to get some laundry done tonight before I pass out.
Til later.....

2011-11-08T21:21:00.000-06:00

It's Tuesday and I don't have much to say (do I ever?)

This came in the mail today. I love it!

Bad iPhone photo. The great colors are lost on it.

My knee is killing me today. One of these days I will break down and go to the doctor.

The little one traveled to district band auditions today. He called a bit ago and told me he made 2nd chair in the honor band (the top band) and we couldn't be more proud. He told me he thinks we should buy him Modern Warfare 3 as a treat. Ha!

That's all! Enjoy your week!

This week

2011-11-06T17:01:00.001-06:00

These are a few of my favorite things this week.

Love this show. The beach, the clothes, the homes. The way she seeks revenge on the people who screwed her over.

High Impact Lipstick from Clinique. I like Honey Blush and Nearly Violet. They are moisturizing, long-lasting and the colors are amazing.


Cinnamon Vanilla coffee creamer. Made with real dairy so it is creamy and yummy.

Nivea, A Kiss of Shimmer. Love it so far.

Pioneer Woman's Fried Round Steak. It is what's for dinner tonight. Yum!!

This website has amazing party supplies.

Turquoise and coral earrings. Please Santa, I have been ~~pretty~~ good.

This guy. He works so hard to take care of us and our crazy business. I don't tell him often enough how much I appreciate him. I LOVE YOU R!!! (photo was taken in Hawaii)

2011-11-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

Don't get excited, I am still in a bad mood but when I am mad, I clean and organize to clear my head and I have been accomplishing quite a bit this week.

Randoms:

☻Last night I packed up the kitchen and dining room Halloween decor. I had to wrap everything breakable and go very slowly. I took that extra time while wrapping to catch up on this season of Glee. Win.

☻I tackled the little one's room today. We got rid of a ton of unnecessary clutter, organized his closet, drawers and armoire. We have a huge pile of clothing for his 14 year old cousin. Like his father, he throws nothing away. Ever. He has every card, every video game and every paper he has ever written for school. At the end of every school year, he throws all of his folders in the top of his closet. It was bad. Seriously. I also shampooed his carpets. Now he wants to move furniture. Kill me now.

☻I have been looking for a cute jacket/sweater to throw on when I am running out the door when it is chilly but not cold (I have sooo many coats) and the North Face one I bought last year is a bit casual. I was looking for an aztec print. I finally decided on one last night. I found it on Zara. Love the style and the colors. And it has a hood. Win.

☻I am not looking forward to the holidays this year. It will be pretty quiet around here. Maybe quiet isn't bad. We might join our friends at their house or even go out. We probably need to decide soon. We will have 4 and maybe 5 dogs so we can't go too far.

☻I am thinking about getting these boots. They are a bit pricey but I really like them.

☻I got the master and the little one's bathroom deep cleaned this week. I hate bathrooms. Especially the tubs and showers.

☻I am getting caught up on all of the shows I have been wanting to see. Here is my insane list: Once Upon a Time, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, Dexter, The Big C, Drop Dead Diva, Real Stupid Housewives of Beverly, Happy Endings, Parenthood, Modern Family, Secret Circle, Castle, Desperate Housewives, Weeds, Up All Night. I want to see Revenge and Grimm too plus get back into Grey's Anatomy. I watch everything online, never while it is on tv.

☻I am completely caught up on laundry now. A miracle.

☻Last night the temps dropped and it rained. It feels like winter is here already but the leaves are still falling.

2011-11-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

I am not posting this week because I am in a bad mood and I am also mad.

There is something wrong with my brain

2011-10-30T13:42:00.016-05:00

After work yesterday, Mr. Funny and I went to the antique mall.
They have a million booths and we love to go look for awesome stuff.

I was not disappointed.

this guy had an original tag on him that said 'Janell Berryman's Pumpkinseeds Folk Art' , I googled her and found these lovlies

She also has a blog. http://pumpkinseedsoriginals.blogspot.com/

(I thought of you, LULU!!)

I am loving the decoupaged trays.
No, I did not need any more Halloween decor. Shush!

I also took a picture of my roast from the other day.
I needed evidence of my ability.

I realized that I need a bigger crock pot.
And for some reason, I have only one cutting board so I need some of those too.
And some Calphalon cookware.
And some new jeans and fall sweaters. And boots.

This is a perfect example of my life.

2011-10-27T16:25:00.002-05:00

It is almost noon and I am still in pj's drinking coffee but I can explain ~~but do I really need to?~~

I just made a roast. More specifically, I put it in the crock pot and isn't crock pot a funny thing? Isn't a crock, also a pot? I shall ponder on this all day.
Anywho, over the summer, we bought some beef from our neighbor who has some cows (real grass fed cows) and there was a roast in with the steaks and ground beef soooooo here I am chopping veggies and onions which ~~I made my husband chop up~~ are quite fragrant.

I have spent the better part of 2 days deep cleaning and organizing the master bath. I pulled everything out of the cabinets (which are still taken apart since I started painting them 2 years ago, remember that? yeah, I plan to address that today) and cleaned out the first aid kit, travel stuff (how many tiny bottles of Aveda products did I buy for Hawaii last Feb.?) and the basket of extra stuff like cotton balls and razor blades (isn't it time to quit shaving for the winter? agh)
I have 5 tubes of toothpaste (you never know when the stores will run out ;) 4 bottles of Downy wrinkle release spray, 10 bars of Lever 2000 and enough bandaids and various types of Advil to cure the world.

I am slowly adjusting to the colder temps and it really has been a pretty fall so far. The leaves are again taking over the yard and despite Mr. Funny's best efforts, it looks as though he hasn't burned a single leaf.

The dogs are locked out today too. They act like they are being abused by being left outside to fend for themselves with the humans in the house totally ignoring them.
I looked outside a while ago and Skip (Jack Russell) humping Kona (German) and then Finn (also German) so they must be bored.

I got a letter in the mail the other day about jury duty. I told them I was a business owner and did not have a replacement if I was called for jury duty. I got this letter today:

The little one is going to the final football game tonight and the big one is packing for his trip out of town for the weekend (ahhh, peace)

I am off to look for my good paint brush.

2011-10-27T11:39:00.002-05:00

Mr Funny just showed me this, some people have a lot of extra time on their hands.
Totally gonna try this next year.

2011-10-25T20:38:00.001-05:00

Holy Weasels kids, how have you been?

This is what we have been doing at the Villa:

►I have been cooking some. Don't pass out, it's just life. I made pork chops, Pico de Gallo, guacamole, fajitas and tomorrow... a roast. The pico was to die for but I used a lot of onion and hated my own guts at 2:30 this morning. I did use a jalapeno (no seeds, I am not a sadist) and it was delish.

►We were invited for dinner by our good friends that we have totally blown off for weeks (death in the family, duh) and they still like us! We had chicken parmesan and watched Bad Teacher. They even invited us on a trip with them in January. Maybe. They asked their kids first since they won 4 tickets but the kids haven't been able to give them an answer. The kids have little kids and details are difficult to work out for babysitting. Cross your fingers for us. I told her that we are super fun. And that kids are stupid on planes and vacations. Especially if they need naps and diaper changes. Here is a hint:

Mr. Funny told me to stop talking about it because I will be disappointed if we don't get to go but I keep annoying him about it.

►I was invited to not one but 2 Halloween get-togethers next weekend. I will probably go for drink(s) Friday but Saturday I am not too hip on. Mr. Funny wants to go though so maybe. On a side note: I never finished decorating for Halloween. This is a crime but yet, time got away. Next year will be back to normal.

►The other day we were watching Two and a Half Men. I saw a Star Wars dude at Ashton Kutcher's house and told Mr. Fantastic it was a Storm Trooper. He said it was a Clone Trooper. He is a drip.

Clone Trooper

Storm Trooper

Big difference? I think not. I guess Barney on How I Met Your Mother has a Storm Trooper and Ashton has a Clone Trooper. I did take a photo when I was watching How I Met Your Mother and sent it to him.

►We went to the little one's parent teacher conferences last night. He is pretty much a straight A student. He even has an A in Trig. He does not get that from his mother. He also aced his leaf project. We used an iPhone app called Leafsnap to take leaf photos. Not really cheating.

►The little one has decided on the Naval Academy. He has to have a letter from a congressman and good grades. Also, some athletic experience. XBox doesn't count so we talked to one of his teachers who is the track coach. Guess who is going to be the newest track star with his mile long legs this coming spring.

►I am trying to catch up on so many shows. I wanted to watch One Upon a Time but haven't got to it. The Housewives of Beverly and Dexter are monopolizing my time. I am loving Two Broke Girls.

►Why do I feel like I have to buy a bag of Kraft caramels every time I go to the store? And candy corns. They are like crack.

►We had family movie night Saturday night. We watched Zookeeper (meh) and the 4th Pirates movie. Those damn scary mermaids made me wonder if Ariel was a sham. Fangs on mermaids? That was the end of that movie for me and I hadn't seen the first 3 movies anyway.

►I am wishing New York could be our December birthday destination this year. I love the vibe this time of the year. Sadly, it's not happening.

►My girlfriend's husband is helping Extreme Home makeover build 7 houses in 7 days in Joplin. Very exciting!

►Since I decided to do the long, side swept bangs this time, I am on the fence if this is good for me. Sometimes they lay nicely but other days, they are in my eyes and stupid.

I am done boring you now.

I think I am back

2011-10-21T17:39:00.001-05:00

So, as you know, I have been very busy lately.
But things have kind of settled down and I am back. I think.

On Monday, the last of the family left. My husbands sister and aunt went home and since we have had visitors for the last 6 months, off and on, it was a huge sadness that gripped me and took over my brain. It was added to the other sadness that has been here since spring.
Spring/ Easter week was when my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer. The prognosis was bad, very bad so we put our lives on hold and took care of her.

We brought out the yard furniture, my hammock, tables and chairs, couches and such. And then we never used them.

I bought a bunch of plants and have yet to do a thing with them.

I stopped deep- cleaning my house every week and instead just did the basics.

I only picked up the essential items at the grocery store.

We payed little attention to the kids, the dogs and the restaurant.

I ignored friends, family and this blog. My journal. I didn't want to talk about things too much and I still don't but I am starting over again.

My mother in law died on Friday, October 7, 2011. I was home in bed in an Excedrin pm coma because I hadn't slept in days and I came home to sleep. I couldn't sleep. Could only cry and sit with my husband and ask him why God had allowed her to suffer so much. Day after day, she wasted away in a drug induced sleep while we turned her to keep the bedsores from breaking through. She had horrible pain so the doctor continued to raise her pain meds and eventually put her on a pain drip. She also had pain patches and was given a shot of pain and anxiety meds every hour. She stopped eating and drinking. She just slept. We took turns sitting with her. Her sister only left to go home and shower for an hour. Her youngest son was there most days. I was there every day. My husband tried to be there but he worked a lot and that was a better place for him.
At a bit after 2 am on the 7th, she passed away. Her face was peaceful.
We didn't go to the hospital when my husband's brother called after 2. There was no need.

Last week was a blur. We made arrangements with the funeral home, newspaper. Called a million people, went shopping for clothes, went through things at the house. Waited for relatives to arrive.

Last Thursday (13th) was the visitation. We saw so many wonderful people.
My sister's and brother arrived and we stayed up way too late with vodka tonics and memories.

Friday was the funeral. The church hosted a huge dinner for us beforehand. The family all arrived. We ate and visited. We had 3 songs sung by friends at the funeral. The service was amazing. We closed the restaurant for 2 hours so our employees could come. We gather at my MIL's house. My husband went to work. I picked up all of the flowers at the funeral home. My Suburban was jam packed and we still had more. We had asked people to donate to my MIL's favorite place. They still sent flowers. Mums, plants, fall arrangements. My car was full and Mel and I had some serious allergy issues. Mel picked up some wine and a few of us carried it around like it was soda in our glass (my MIL's side of the family doesn't really drink at events like mine does) We looked at pictures, gave clothes away, organized flowers and plants, ate desserts (I cannot describe how much food there was) and I took photos.

Saturday, I spent a bit of time with Mel and Deb and John and then they left. Mr. Funny worked for me. After work, we went to say goodbye to all of the extended family who were gathered outside (it was the most gorgeous weekend!!) I took the photos I posted. The little one had left at 4 am for a marching festival 2 hours away. We took my twin niece and nephew who are 14 and drove to the festival to watch the prelims and finals.
Our band won everything, as they do. We stopped at McDonalds at 11pm and got home after 12.

Sunday was spent with family at my MIL's house. Going through drawers, gathering prescriptions, looking through old letters and papers and finding bills so we can continue to take care of the house until my husbands brother can buy his part of it. I made piles of things to give away.
They gave me a letter that she had written to me. I got the new iPad and Nook we had bought for my MIL. I took some jewelry and knick knacks. I got a beautiful piece of furniture.
We all went for pizza.
I went home at almost 3am.

On Monday, I started a huge list with things that need to get done. I crossed off many things but I have also added to that list. We ran errands and stocked the house with groceries. We went back out to my MIL's house (my husbands brother is living there now) so I could add to my list. I need to find a home for her clothes, books, purses, shoes, meal replacement food, etc. We will go through the house in the spring but I want to do a few small things every week. It will be easier on my sister in law to have some of that stuff gone in the spring.
Monday, we made spaghetti and meatballs. The kids were cranky and really didn't care. I stayed up until 2am with my lists, sorting mountains of laundry, cleaning my bedroom and just not sleeping.

Tuesday morning, I regretted my decision to stay up so late. And oh hell it had gotten cold. And rainy. I dressed in a cute outfit (makes you feel better when you look good) wore a bright lipstick and went to work. After work I ran errands and went home. I layed on the couch under a heated blanket and slept for 2 hours. The kids were both gone so dinner was an iced Halloween cookie and an orange Sunkist soda. An orange meal. Up until 1:30am. Stupid girl.

Wednesday was another cute outfit, extra concealer and extra, extra coffee. I wore my animal print blazer that I bought for visitation. It was very cold outside again. I made some phone calls from work to take care of canceling credit cards and store cards for my MIL. I went home and spent the evening alone. The kids were working and I watched a few shows. Had a glass of wine (thanks for leaving the wine, Mel! :) ) I am so far behind on tv.

Thursday I hit almost bottom. I slept in until after 12. My husband tried to get me up. I kept sleeping. I had too much to do. I slept. He brought me my phone which had missed calls, voicemail and texts. I got up and brushed my teeth, put on clean clothes (no bath, no hair-washing!) and went to run errands again. One of my calls was from my salon. They had half priced facials and they thought I could use one. Oh hell yes. I made the appointment. Somehow, I got through the day. The facial was the magic touch. I finally relaxed. I went home and started the laundry, cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, played with the dogs, conquered the piles of laundry on the sofa from last week, cleaned bathrooms, planned dinner. The little one was working on a homework assignment with a friend and the big one was his usual crabby self and they informed me that they had just ordered pizza. I put on Netflix and continued on with my laundry mountains. I wished I had an extra washing machine and 2 extra dryers. I took a bath and had a cold beer. Or 2. Went to bed with only 2 loads of laundry left. It will multiply as I sleep.

Here I am. It is Friday. I have a huge list. I am going to conquer it. I have until the end of the year for all of it. My husband had an appt. with his attorney and his brother about the estate. I have laundry in the washer and dryer. I have coffee. I am here to carry on my mother in laws legacy. I will never, ever come close to being the person she was but I will do my best. She told me to take care of everyone (I have been trying to do this for months) and make sure people do not go crazy or fall out of touch. It is funny that she would ask that of me. Fortunately, I have my husband to keep me from going crazy.

I am lucky. I have a good family. I have a house, a job, a good marriage that gets better every day, lots of love.

And in honor of fashion Friday, something I have all but forgotten, here are my recent purchases. For the funeral.
This leopard jacket is soft, stretchy and perfect with a black, sleeveless top with a rosette neckline. I wore it with wide-legged trouser jeans and black wedges for the visitation.

I broke down and bought a black suit. We will call it my funeral suit.
I hated spending so much on a jacket and skirt but they are very flattering on me (not in these photos though) and I can mix it up with different tops.

I love this top.

That is all I have today.
Have a wonderful weekend!

2011-10-19T17:48:00.002-05:00

Life around here is stupid these days.

To change the subject, I won a blog giveaway a while back.
Here is what I won:

a necklace and matching earrings

wrapped in this fabulous paper

I took lots of photos when all of the family were here for the funeral.
It was a beautiful funeral, by the way. Not a dry eye in the house and my oldest son sang "You Raise Me Up".
This was my favorite:

Mel brought wine

sitting on the floor cause the room was full o peeps

There were many people visiting from out of state.

Virginia

Colorado

Texas

Arkansas

Brother-in-law and kids (from here)

Arkansas (MIL's sister and mother to the 3 boys pictured above)

Dorks

There were many more but they had already left by the time we stopped over on our way to the little one's marching competition.

Marching band season has ended and so has any semblance of decent weather. It is freezing cold today and I hate it.
I have been so tired and busy lately.
I plan to do a better post soon :)

2011-10-12T01:26:00.000-05:00

I had intended to post this weekend but I was unable to form a complete thought and my head was fuzzy.
This week is going to kick my ass.
My sister-in-law flew in today.
We spent the evening going through pictures for the visitation and met with a close family friend who is also a minister and who will be helping to give the eulogy.

Tomorrow will be meetings with the funeral home, with her own minister, arranging photos and planning both the visitation Thursday and the funeral Friday (she was cremated)
Family will start arriving tomorrow from out of state (I think there will be close to 30) and we need to figure out meals, sleeping arrangements, and for some of us, how much booze to buy.
I haven't had time to let this all sink in. As I told them today, we have plenty of time for crying later.
I spent yesterday trying to find clothes for both days. I lucked out and found a black skirt and jacket with a nice colorful tank for the funeral and a black ruffled tank and leopard blazer for visitation. It took 2 hours. My husband needed slacks, shoes and a dress shirt which took him 18 seconds to try on and purchase. I didn't dare push him to wear a tie. He does not dress up (polo shirts for work do not count)so he labeled these clothes his funeral clothes and probably will not wear them again.
The boys both have suits and lots of dress shirts so that part was easy.

Saturday is the last marching competition of the year and since we missed the others, we will be gone all day to this one. Not sure if the extended family will be staying the entire weekend but hopefully, they won't linger.
It occurred to us tonight that we have a 4 bedroom home jam packed with years of stuff to go through. The basement is its own nightmare.
I am way too tired to imagine it right now plus my neck is out of sorts so there's that.

We did have a small get together for dinner Saturday night with some new (to me) friends. My husband is buddies with a deputy Sheriff and his wife was my MIL's favorite nurse o we took them to our favorite Italian place.

We are a pretty tight crew so we should be able to pull all of this off without a hitch.
The rest of the story comes later.

The newest Angel

2011-10-07T16:43:00.000-05:00

My mother in law passed away a little after 2 this morning.
I had gone home to get some sleep but her sister and youngest son were with her and she went peacefully.

Thank you to all of my sweet blog friends for all of your thoughts and prayers.

A bit of humor on a ratshit day

2011-10-06T00:46:00.000-05:00

We took a small break from the hospital to grab a burger at Hardees tonight.
It was freezing in that building!
"You could hang meat in here!" I said.
We ate quickly and a couple of older men were sitting behind us commenting on the polar temps as well.
One of them spouted off with "if this place caught fire, we'd all jump up and go warm our hands!"

I laughed all the way back to the hospital.

2011-10-05T00:05:00.000-05:00

I really don't have time to blog (and today I did not have time to shower- I used extra deodorant and brighter lipgloss to deflect from the sadness of my condition)
I am spending most of my time at the hospital, which believe me, gets more depressing every day.

We have plans to go to Tulsa for a marching competition this Saturday, the little one has a big solo, but things here are still unstable. Like me.
If we go, we are staying with Mel. I plan to sit in her hot tub so it better be clean and running.

I leave you with these:

True dat

I do love a beverage on a patio in the fall. Soon.

Mens underwear I saw in Eureka

2011-10-01T15:49:00.000-05:00

First things first.
I won a blog giveaway!!
I won this necklace (I adore green) from Lulu, my friend in Halloween adoration.
She creates the most divine things so please visit her blog and drool with me!

Things around here have been up and down.
My mother in law is nearing the end of her amazing life and we are helping her remain comfortable and pain free. This has been difficult at times because of the horrible type of cancer she has.
She has been in and out of the hospital dealing with pain management and fluid build-up in her abdomen.
Yesterday was a very bad day and her doctor was concerned that she might not make it through the weekend or even the night but this morning she was feeling better.
She is ready to move on to her next life for sure. Her strength and attitude amaze me.

I found some time to get my hair trimmed and roots done yesterday and I tried the purple painted feather again (last time it lasted 4 days)
I got a ton of compliments on it at work today.

I watched Bridesmaids again. It might be my new favorite movie!
Have a great weekend!!

Happy Birthday

2011-09-27T23:05:00.002-05:00

This boy/man/baby/kid/loon is 21 today. (the 28th)
I am clearly not old enough to have a 21 year old.
My knees would disagree as the left one has been slowly dying on me.

He is funny, smart, stylish, colorful, challenging, artistic, inventive and sweet.
He marches to his own drummer and can play any instrument, sing like Bocelli, dance, run, shop, eat, learn something new in no time, cook, color his hair, pick out great clothes, decorate, laugh at everything, make up the funniest sayings, melt people's hearts and drive us nuts.
All on the same day.

I have been too busy to blog.
Every week brings a new obstacle in our lives. Family comes and goes like crazy, doctor visits turn into hospital admissions, we are being pulled in every direction and barely have time for a breath so we are just living in the moment.
I have been able to do a few fun things now and again. Shopping and dinner with my husbands aunt (the sole member of his family who enjoys shopping), a Starbucks, vodka tonics, new fall clothing, quick drinks with friends and lots and lots of family time.
Peace out.

Boo

2011-09-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday!
Our weekend was filled with family, football and food.

I finished the dining room last week, just getting around to posting.

Have a great week!

Bag Envy

2011-09-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

If money grew on trees, oak trees, I would be set.
Here are some pretty things that I am not willing/patient enough to save for.

2011-09-14T17:44:00.002-05:00

Hummingbirds. The other white meat.

2011-09-14T17:27:00.002-05:00

This morning the hummingbirds were going insane.
The feeder was empty and Mr. Funny had made food and let it cool overnight so I risked certain death by pecking and filled it.
Then I set my camera on record and went in to make coffee.
It gets real crazy at the 1:15 mark.
I might need another feeder. Maybe.
Hummingbird Heaven from Funny in My Mind on Vimeo.

One way I avoid work

2011-09-13T20:33:00.002-05:00

I spent a few wasted hours today on this website.
You should too!
Lots of fun things to read and see.

My mother-in-law is going home tomorrow. She felt great today. I stopped at the hospital after work and she and Aunt W demanded I go back to the restaurant and get them some pasta. I was happy to oblige.

My Halloween stuff is still exactly where it was the other day. See what happens when good intentions go bad?

There is a server at work that I want to fire. I also want to smash her face in. Yes, I do.

There are too many dogs in this house.

My husband looked at new Jeeps today. Then he called and asked me if I want a Jeep. I am now wondering if the offer was for a new one or if he was trying to give me his old (! 2011 !) one and get a new one for himself. Hmmm

I made dinner last night. For the record.

Chocolate chip muffins from the Walmart bakery are really good. So is this creamer.

My sister's are supposedly coming for a visit this weekend. I plan to make the most of it.

I recently pulled out a few of my cold weather items. They are all ugly and shopping is not an option.

The big one cut his finger while sharpening a knife (the wrong way) at work today. He damn near passed out from the sight of his own blood and I had to sit him down on the office floor while I called my husband (who was probably out looking at Jeeps) to come in and help the other cook. He kept saying he was going to barf. (oh, hell no you won't) He was a very odd shade of gray. I got the bleeding stopped and wrapped it with gauze and tape and had him wear 2 rubber gloves. He had the same face when he was little and got a splinter. Thank God he gave up on a military career. He would not do well if someone lost an appendage. I have just been summoned to change the bandage. Wish me luck, if he barfs, I'm outta here.

We watched a movie last night in bed. It was so slow. I fell asleep 15 min. before it ended.

2011-09-12T10:31:00.001-05:00

Stacey asked me to take pictures of my Halloween decor.
There you go.

I might just leave it like it is.
It was exhausting hauling that stuff up from "the morgue" (the closet in my basement with the long shelves that look like a morgue freezer) and then unpacking and unwrapping everything.

My dining table theme will be spiders. I still have a ways to go.

Xavier. He was an end of season clearance last year and I was delighted to find him this year, I had forgotten.

This is Stefan. I adore his pants.

I still have 2 tubs of fall decor also and I never really put it all out at the same time. I used to do fall decor from Sept. to Oct. 1st and then Halloween for a month and Halloween got put away and I brought out the turkey and pilgrim decor for Thanksgiving.
Clearly I had too much time on my hands back then.
Maybe I could stage them like Halloween vs. Thanksgiving and have the skeletons dueling the turkeys and such. I have lots of time to think about it because we are on the way back to the hospital and then I have errands to run and groceries to buy.

Here are the cups I ordered from Anthropologie..

2011-09-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

My mother-in-law is back in the hospital.
We called her doctor today because my husbands aunt was worried and he admitted her because the fluid is back in her abdomen and her pain was out of control again despite the pain meds.
They tried to drain the fluid but the color indicated an infection so they stopped immediately to run tests and then started an antibiotic.

On Friday, at her appointment, she had a small bit of fluid and he told her not to let it get bad before she came in to have it drained but he wasn't expecting her quite so soon.

When we picked her up, it took her quite some time to get dressed and packed. She was very shaky and tired and had no energy. On the way to my car, she had to stop and vomit quite a few times. My niece and nephews who are 14 year old twins and a 9 year old plus my little one were on the porch witnessing her in her awful state and it was heartbreaking to try to explain to them that this was part of her disease. She has tried to shield them from the uglier parts of her illness.

We spent some time with her in the ICU until her pain was managed and stopped for dinner with the little one before coming home.
He told me the other day that he is not afraid or sad for her that she is dying because she is going to a much better place where her pain will be gone and she will be healed. He said he is sad that he won't see her for a while though.

I really worry more about my oldest son. He has always been very close to his grandmother and he doesn't want to talk about her illness and keeps busy doing everything he can to avoid seeing her much. He did go to the hospital to visit tonight but rushed home to invite friends over for movie night. I have let him know that he may have little time left and he acts shocked but I know how he operates and he will deal in his own way.

I decided to start putting my Halloween decorations out tonight when we got home.
I don't know what the days hold and how much time or energy I will have later this month.
I talked to a couple of friends and my sister to fill them in on our situation and my husbands sister is flying in from the East coast this weekend with her husband.

I think our warmer weather is coming back, I shut the windows and turned on the air a few minutes ago.
Have a nice week!

10 Years

2011-09-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

Pentagon

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was driving the boys to school when a radio announcer on a morning show I listen to said "someone just ran his plane into the World Trade Center"
I looked at the sky at that minute and it was the bluest sky, the whitest clouds.
Everyone thought it was a small plane, they discussed different options- was he drunk, blinded by the sun?

I dropped the kids off and when I got home and told my husband, he immediately said it was a terrorist attack.
That idea sounded insane to me. Why?
We turned on the tv and watched the buildings burn. When they fell, it was like being in a bad dream where you cannot wake up.

We watched tv for next 2 days, barely leaving the house.

I have been to NYC a few times. When we took the boys in 1999, we talked about taking them up in the buildings, the towers. Instead, they chose the Empire State Building. I also have photos of us on the ferry on our way to the Statue. The towers are in the background. I have photos of the boys standing downtown with the towers looming behind them.

We went back in November 2001. Everything was different. You could not go to the top of the Statue of Liberty, or the Empire State Building.
We could not get close to Ground Zero but we had lunch at a pizza place in the Wall Street area and there were workers coming in that were completely covered, head to toe, with white dust. They looked shell-shocked. The things they must be seeing, 2 months later. In the rubble. People applauded them, stood up and clapped any time a worker came in.
I cried in the corner while I tried to read a magazine. The boys were out trying to get a closer look at where the building stood. We have pictures. Lots. All of my photos are in albums so we will not forget.
I had only been to NYC a couple of times and I was devastated by our loss, imagine how it felt when that was YOUR city. Well it was our city, I guess. It is our city. It is our country.

The last time I went, it was with my 3 sisters in December of 2009. We stayed at a hotel that overlooked Ground Zero. There were huge gaping holes in the earth. It seemed so empty. We spent a lot of time on the other side of the city and never made it to the site, the Statue or the Empire State Building.

Things have changed in 2 years. We plan to go back and see the memorials.
We saw before and during, now to the after.

Catch me if you can

2011-09-08T17:53:00.000-05:00

Lots of fun around here these days. Gorgeous weather and lots of sunshine. ☼

How about if I start from today and go backward.

► Mr. Funny started feeling awful last night- sore throat, headache and tired. Went to doctor today. He has hand foot and mouth disease. And strep. And possibly a sinus infection. He asked for a shot instead of pills. The shot was in the butt. The nurse that gave it to him is a regular customer of ours. Which brings the grand total of customers who have seen my husbands parts to 2. (the doctor that performed his vasectomy was #1) I took a photo for your enjoyment; I was discreet.

I mentioned that the little one has the same blisters on his throat. He said HE probably gave the disease to his dad.
I made chicken enchiladas this morning. Lots. Enough for my MIL and her sister, my family and a friend. They are so good. I played some more with my recipe today. Added green chiles. I will let you know.
I finally got my Suburban back today. It now has a rebuilt engine and was detailed. It also has new awesome floor mats which smell like decaying flesh and burning tires. But man, it is spotless inside and out.

► I took the little one to the doctor Tuesday. Stuffy nose, sore throat, crabby. They did a strep test. He had a sinus infection. Allergies. The doctor told him of a wacky concoction to gargle. Maalox, liquid Benadryl and liquid Tylenol- equal parts to make a full tablespoon. Gargle one full minute and then swallow. It soothes the pain. He also got an antibiotic. We had to get cherry Maalox, cherry liquid Benadryl (we got kids kind) and cherry liquid Tylenol (adult), Advil, Zyrtec, pudding and jello. It is all on my countertop which really messes with my clutter OCD.
later note: Apparently he also has hand, foot and mouth disease.
He lost the marching band solo he wanted to another kid because he wasn't playing well due to his sore throat. He is pissed about that. We are still going to the football game tomorrow night to watch. He is also pissed about that.

► Monday, Mr. Funny had to work so a friend came in from out of town to spend the day with me. We spent some time with my MIL, had lunch and I sampled her Mary Kay inventory. I also ended up with some eye shadow, blush and lipgloss. It was a good day.
Monday evening, we had a family dinner with cousins, nephews, nieces and an aunt at my MIL's house. Mr. Funny grilled brats, hot dogs and chicken breasts. I made pasta salad, watermelon and bought a flag cake. We had a fantastic night. Then we watched the Kids of 911 special on tv and we all got sad. I cried myself to sleep.

► Sunday, I worked and left early to take my husbands aunt (my MIL's sister who will be living with my MIL until the end) and cousin to the Japanese steakhouse. W (aunt) loves it and the little one brought his friend along too. We ate way too much and then stopped at Barnes and Noble to get a few books. I did a bit of Christmas shopping while there. Then we went to Krispy Kreme and Starbucks on the way home.
I got this book:

► Saturday was laundry and then we spent some time with Mr. Funny's family. We met our friends for dinner and drinks and then I went home to watch my Netflix while my hubby and his cousin went to see the Apes movie. I hate monkeys so I got off easy.

► Friday morning my MIL came home from the hospital. They drained over 2 liters of fluid off of her abdomen before she left and doubled her pain patch dosage. The doctor told my husband's brother that the best we can hope for is about 4-6 weeks with her. He said closer to 4 was his best guess. We knew time was running out but I guess we thought we had more. He said probably 2 good weeks at home and then she will need the IV pain meds in the hospital.

► Monday- Thursday is a blur.
I wormed and brushed all 4 dogs, grocery shopped, did a little online shopping for Christmas.
My husband's cousin and his daughter arrived from Virginia. He is a firefighter, a retired military guy, was in special forces, has backpacked all over the place including 876 miles of the Appalachian Trail, has worked detail for past presidents (he was called to cover detail during Obama's speech last week but they didn't make him do it since he was with family out of town) and knows everything about everything. We had a great time visiting with him. The little one pretty much decided that he is going to college for engineering so he can design weapons and ammunition. I am not so sure about that. His daughter is 21. She has a pink, purple, blue and green mohawk and a few piercings but she is bright and funny and not at all annoying like some 21 year olds. She is an old soul.
My MIL had a bad weekend which landed her in the hospital Wed. with fluid built up in her abdomen and uncontrolled pain. She improved immediately after the meds they gave her.
We found out that my SIL in Jersey still had no storm damage and planned to visit again soon.
Tuesday was my sister's birthday. Happy late birthday D!!!

►I am gearing up for the sister's weekend in Eureka in December. I am making treat bags for us girls instead of gifts and having a great time picking stuff up for them.
I am also hoping we can take a family trip at Christmas to get away from here for a few days. The boys like getting gifts but I am sure they would love a warm beach or a cool getaway somewhere new. We will see.

2011-09-06T19:10:00.002-05:00

2011-08-31T21:50:00.000-05:00

I look like Mother Nature. Or an angel. Or a dork.

Guess how much fun I had on Aunt W's iPad today? (I have an ancient iPad and it sucks)

We were at the hospital with my MIL (she was admitted for some tests) and I was playing some cool word games and taking ridiculous photos of myself.

Someone asked:
This is the nail polish I have on my toes:

This boy:

was not happy with this boy because Neko decided to sleep next to my side of the bed where Finn usually guards me.
A lot of growling and pouting ensued. Some sleep was lost.
Neko is our guest so he got first dibs.

Here is the shirt I bought in Eureka.
Love it!

Here is the beer I bought in Eureka to sip while getting ready for dinner.
I hate it. (yes it is on my dresser where I put the bottles when I unpacked them)

Fun fact:
My fountain water matches my toenails.

I got nothin' else.
Unless you want to read this post about a chicken named Beyonce which reminded me of something I would totally do. Or this one.

Our weekend

2011-08-30T23:04:00.003-05:00

Hello!
We had a great weekend, decided kind of last minute to go to Eureka Springs Saturday morning and spend the night.
This trip was long-awaited and much needed!

We checked in early. Took the top off the Jeep immediately. Had lunch at one of our favorite places, a biker bar and grill called The Rockin' Pig.

Our hotel - I took this shot out the roof of the Jeep

Our cruiser

Cool rides

Mandatory photo

Then we did a bit of driving around. There was a Volkswagon convention in town. And tons of Harleys.
Guess who is dying to get a Harley? (yeah, NOT me)

We also did some of this:

I took some photos while we cruised around. It was a gorgeous weekend.

We made dinner reservations at Ermilios.
The hour and a half waiting list gave us time to shop a bit and get changed.

After dinner, we went to have drinks.

Yay! Drinks!

I got a kick out of this outside the bar.

The music was bad but the company was awesome.

The cords behind us are what make the picture.

I had a watermelon margarita- chunks of real watermelon in it.

I had 2 of these. And later- heartburn from hell. Totally worth it.

The only complaint we had was the beds were not that comfortable. We are spoiled by our mattress at home though.
I got up early and walked to the breakfast room for coffee. The view was beautiful. I was too tired to walk down to the fountain so I snapped this instead.

We are preferred guests so we get a late check-out. We decided to go have brunch and shop a bit.

My favorite coffee/ brunch place. It is underground.

This was amazing!

I saw this shirt, thought about buying it but got sidetracked......

Thought about getting these underwear for Mr. Funny....

Of course we had to see Corwin. He is the main greeter at one of my favorite stores.

And Corwin's friend, Flash.

I found some great things. The beaded jewelry is great and many of the stores feature art from local artists.
This was my best purchase.
I put a bird on it.

The artist makes these necklaces out of postcards and other things. There was a small twig and stone in this one.


Love the hand-painted beads.

And these were the best deal, 50% off Uggs!
They are the most comfortable shoe, I ended up wearing them most of the time.

I got a great tank- handpainted and the lovliest shade of green. I will try to take a photo of it tomorrow.

Fun on the ride home.

When we got home, my new Anthro shirt was here. Love it!

Back to work this week.
My MIL is going back to the doctor tomorrow. She has a lot of fluid in her abdomen and the meds they gave her to help drain it haven't worked and today she was in a lot of discomfort. They are going to have to extract the fluid tomorrow which she is dreading because of worry of an infection.

My husbands other cousin and his 21 year old daughter are here from Virginia. His mom is my MIL's sister. He has been in special forces in the military, backpacked through jungles and up mountains and lived off of the land. He has great stories and we had a nice dinner with them tonight.

Mr. Funny took this photo of the big one studying today.
He was eating pizza right out of the box and drinking from a 2 liter.
Civilized.
I'm not going to push it because he is finally taking classes. Biology and accounting.

Busy week ahead.
The little one will be traveling to Arkansas to march with the band in the Razorback stadium during halftime.
We need to meet up with our neglected friends and visit with family.
Thankfully I am caught up on laundry and housework and I went to the grocery store yesterday.

Have a great week!!