Buck up

Well. They did it. They lifted the ban on gay marriage in California! Fantastic!

Why was it ever banned to begin with? What is wrong with people? I guess I'm just to liberal. I guess I just think every loving couple - no matter what your sex - should be entitled to prove their commitment to one another with a legal piece of paper if they desire. Why is that wrong?

Come on other states...buck up.

What could be more fun that pouring a bucket of sand over your head?

What could be more fun than blowing dandelion wishies?

Thank you, Mr Bush, for forcing me to add "frugal" to my vocabulary. pfft.

As I was pumping gas into my husband's truck, at $3.75 9/10 per gallon, I thought to myself...WTF is going on here? I remember complaining about gas being too expensive when it was $2.65. Yet, there I stood...with no other choice. The tank was on E (thanks honey). And I had to take the Boy to the sitter and get to work yet. I had to stop and get gas.

I arrived at work, miraculously on time, and checked my bank account as I always do first thing in the morning. Our economic stimulous check had arrived. Yippee. But, actually, it dawned on me...they can keep that money if they lower the gas prices back down to $2.65.

I try to buy some organic foods for my family: organic milk, organic meats and organic eggs. We eat a lot of crap and a lot of processed foods, but we also eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. I don't bother with organic fruits and veggies though. Since I've added the organic foods to our grocery list, I have made cutbacks elsewhere. I try to buy off brand or sale items, and I've stopped buying WW Smart Ones for Michelena's Lean Gourmet frozen meals for lunches. The Lean Gourmet's are only a buck each. So, that helps.

After paying our last Columbia Gas bill ($498!), I decided we needed to start cutting back on some of our expenditures. So, I emailed our cleaning lady and told her we needed to cut back to 1 time per month. Guess what? She doesn't do monthly cleaning schedules. Only weekly or biweekly. WTF am I going to do? I'm not going to spend my weekends cleaning like I used to do. I can't do it. And I'm not just going to let it slide like I also used to do when I didn't feel like spending my entire weekend cleaning. I think I might have to keep her on the biweekly schedule. What else can I cut back on?

I really, honestly, have cut back on my spending. Before Boy I bought a new pair of shoes and/or a handbag (and not from Target either people...pricey) every month. I don't do that anymore. Sure, I did just buy 2 pair of expensive flats...but I *needed* them. And I didn't get that Coach bag that was consuming my thoughts. I'm selling stuff on Ebay...some of those shoes and handbags. Yepper.

I can't cut our cell phone bills. I don't know how I would live without texting. I guess I could cancel our home phone. I can start with long distance, since we never use it and the bill is more of a nuisance than anything. I could cancel our life insurance policies. Or, maybe that's not such a good idea. I do need to shop around for cheaper insurance for my car...I think we're getting boned.

It's not that we're going broke here or anything. I just feel like we are needlessly throwing money out the door. I don't want to be frugal. Hell, I'm not even sure I know how to be. And I certainly don't like the idea of being forced to add "frugal" to my vocabulary. I'm feeling very confused.

In closing...we received our info package from our local Montessori school. Can you say $10k per school year? I'm going to go list everything I own on Ebay. *sigh*

Pennsylvania - Tell me where to go

I am trying to find a place to stay the night on the road since we are driving to NYC in July. Yes, I realize our trip is 2 months away. I’m a freak, ok. Sue me.

As much as loathe Pennsylvania (long story, speeding ticket 10 years ago), we will have to pick a place in that state to stay. I would like to make the most of it and find somewhere with activities for the Boy. It’s just 1 overnight, so we just need something to do in the evening or the following morning. We check in our place in NYC after 1pm.

I suppose even just a national park would be nice. Swingsets, jungle gym type stuff and someplace to run, run, run! There are some really cool looking places in Pennsylvania though, but I’m not sure if we should “go out of our way”. Like the Crayola Factory, the Choo Choo Barn (or one of the many other train related museums/activities) The Indian Echo Caverns, or Sesame Place. There are hands on kids museums too. We typically take 80 all the way into NYC, but one time took the 76 split near Cleveland and ended up going through Philly. It was a nice drive, a little less boring, with tunnels and cool stuff on our route, but the tolls were outrageous and it did add an extra 2 hours on to our drive. Do we really want to spend 2 more hours in the car with the Boy who will likely be over our trip after an hour or two?

Ack! What to do?

crazyticalishious

I think most boys like Thomas the Train. The Boy likes Thomas the Train. I got him a pair of Thomas the Train pajamas for Valentine’s Day (as soon as he saw them he said he had to have them...what was I supposed to do?) This morning while I was changing his diaper, he was pulling his Thomas the Train pajama top over his penis, and said to me “Thomas the Train on my penis”. And then he said “Thomas the Train on my butt”. He made me crack up. He thought that was hilarious. The kid is crazy.

He likes to chase our cats, and it’s no surprise that they run and hide from him. I asked him why the kitties run from him. “Cause I’m a crazy lunatic”. (Because that’s what I call him) Then he decided he wasn’t happy with that label, so he made a new word this morning…a “crazytic”.

My Boy...the Crazytic!

visits. pots. concrete.

So, this morning our good good friend and her 4 children came to visit us. (Her husband had to stay home [in Delaware] and work). It was so great to see her and the kids. It has been almost a hear since we've seen them. It was great to watch the Boy play with them and watch him copy her boy. Her boy would put his hands on his head, the Boy would put his hands on his head, he would put his hands on his belly, the Boy would put his hands on his belly...you see the trend here. It was very cute. All 5(!) of them had a great time playing upstairs in the Boy's playroom! Sooo glad we finally got that room set up! It was a wonderful visit and I do hope our next visit does not take another year.

I was able to get away for a while while the Boy was napping. I went to the nursery to get some plants for my pots. There were some very nice combinations highlighted in the latest BH&G Magazine and I really wanted to create these combinations in my pots. The nursery I went to only had 1 of the items listed...and there were 12 plants on my list! The one plant they had = vinca vine. Hello...everyone carries vinca. Argh. I improvised, and my pots do look nice, but the ones in the mag are stunning. I want stunning!

I need to make it a priority to go to the greenhouse up in Michigan. I always go to the same nursery. I've gone there for the past 6 years and it seems I'm always a bit disappointed over one thing or another. I think this might be my last trip there. Sorry BD...but I'm over you.

And I have fantastic news to share...we're getting a new driveway! This is very exciting to me. You see, we live in a house that was built in 1910...and I think the driveway was put in shortly thereafter and never thought about again. We have the 2 ribbon strips with the patch of grass in the middle. Only, it's not really grass. Mostly weeds, or rocks, or some other random crap and it's irritated me since the day we moved in. They're busted up, they're lopsided, and also not wide enough. We talk about it every year. We've had the money saved, and then we've spent the money saved on something else. Over and over again. Well, it's going to happen this month, and be finished by festival. I am very excited.

Doin the twist

The long awaited Lavender Twist Redbud is in bloom.

You like?

Me like so much I decided to add it to my header.

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Me like.