The Blog Readability Test

I'm just so glad that I've advanced out of elementary school. With the vocabulary I use on a daily basis - I was shocked at my current rating.

Maybe someday I'll advance to High school!

Movie Reviews

So - what's YOUR rating?

Do you pledge?

I got this over at Gouker Goons & laughed pretty hard. And I SOOOO pledge to do it!

Raise your right hand and repeat after me ...




The Open Toed Shoe Pledge


As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to obey the following the rules when wearing sandals and other open-toe shoes:


I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.


I promise to go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.


I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.


I promise to shave the hairs off my big toe.


I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend/co-worker/mother/sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.


If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.


I promise to not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.


I promise to resist the urge to buy jelly shoes at Payless for the low, low price of $4.99 even if my feet are small enough to fit into the kids' sizes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.


I promise to take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.


I promise to be brutally honest with my girlfriend/co-worker/mother/sister when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet look good.


I promise if I wear flip flops, I will ensure that they are actually flipping and flopping, making the correct noise while I walk, and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.


I promise to go to my local nail salon at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are about $35 and worth EVERY penny).


I promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear ... nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.
May I be a member of the sisterhood forever!

I love SPRING!!!

Spring has FINALLY arrived at our house! I am so excited!!!

I went outside today and found THESE!!!









Now I know there are only three tulips, but I have a plethora more that will be opening within the next week!

Here's my new happy spring song.

I love spring.
How I love spring.
It makes me sing.
I love spring!

Small, I know, but I am just. so. happy!!!

Double-Edged Swords

Life is full of them, no?

My most recent double-edged sword will be found in the form of May 3rd. That date could actually be a triple-edged sword, but that's not really realistic now, is it?

May 3rd is our ward canning day. I'm stoked for this because I've never canned anything & I just purchased almost $400 in food storage. Yay me!

FLIP SIDE!!!

Two other FUN things will be happening that day.
The first being that it is National Scrapbooking Day & I REALLY wanted to hold a crop at my house. No one can come. Including me. Bummer.
The second being what I've ALWAYS wanted to do. A "walk for the cure" of sorts. It's called A Walk 4 Hearing. On May 3rd it will be happening in Longmont, CO - just a hop, skip & a jump away from me. Click on the link for more info about that. Within my reach but so far away. Advanced Bionics (the makers of Mr. Fantastic's cochlear implant) would give me a cool shirt, too! But I'll be canning.

Double-edged swords suck.

Letters of a tired mom

Dear Princess Monkey Eyes,

Please don't give your little brother poopy diapers to play with anymore. While it was my fault that the diaper was left in your room, high on your dresser, you should'nt have gotten out of bed to give it to him. I know that he made you laugh while he was playing with it, but it wasn't good for him to be going to bed with poop all over his hands and face. It was really yucky to clean up this morning. So please don't do that again, okay?

Love,
Your tired, frazzled Mommy who is still desperately wishing Daddy DIDN'T go fishing this morning.
**********

Dear Fellow Blogging Community,

I know I've been soooo bad at commenting on your blogs lately. And I am sorry. You see, I STILL haven't managed how to juggle work & home life effectively enough to get everything done. For instance, it is the 17th and I still haven't paid all the bills yet. So, please be patient with me while I try to figure out this thing called life. I know some of you have it figured out enough to be able to blog & read others' blogs. So, if you wouldn't mind, please enlighten me!

Sincerely,
Her Royal Highness who hasn't been feeling very "royal" lately
**********

Dear Dyson,

You should be paying me because I have promoted your product to many of my clients & over half of them have purchased one now. So, I'll take it in 10's and 20's - or better yet, you can just reimburse me for mine!

Regards,
A faithful Dyson customer
**********

Dear Popeye,

I'm sorry I yelled at you on the phone this morning. You see, you had left really early this morning to go fishing for three days and left me in charge of everything. I know you didn't realize that Thor was covered in poop and that Princess M.E. stayed awake since the time she climbed into bed with me at 4:30. I know you desperately need this time of relaxation and I'm really sorry that I blew up at you for not putting my wallet where you said you did. Thank you for telling me where to find it & not hating me forever. I love you.

Love,
Me
**********

Dear Thor,

I really am so happy that you learned how to climb down the stairs. Now, would you please get on with the walking thing so that I don't have to carry you everywhere? Please? For Me? I love you and love to see you grow - so PLEASE start walking!

Love,
Mommy

Long Overdue - I know

It's been, what, 2 weeks since my last post? I know. I'm a slacker. Sue me. No, don't sue me because I need all the money I can get my hands on & in this day & age, someone might literally sue me for being a slacker.

Anyway. I said I would post pics of my trip to The Stanley Hotel. So here they are. And here are some of our sxperiences we had.

First, the experiences - paranormal, of course! When we first got there and got to our room, Popeye started snapping pictures - and his battery drained on his camera after 2 pictures. Now, those in the ghost investigation field claim that spirits draw energy from sources around them to manifest themselves. Well, we took pictures later in the evening (Popeye with a blanket over him pretending to be a ghost) and we got a pic of an "orb". No known reason why it was there or if it was anything - but that picture is still on Popeye's camera - so you won't be seeing that one.

Then, after I went to sleep, Popeye decided to hold his own investigation. So he went poking around the hotel & ended up on the 4th floor. The 4th floor is known to have sightings of children playing and a grumpy old man who doesn't like women. So Popeye sat down on a little loveseat in the hallway & after a few minutes of just sitting there, he heard footsteps walking towards him in the hallway. The floors are carpeted but have hardwood underneath. So he looked around and no one was there. No one on the staircase (which was in plain view)& no one in the hallway. So the next morning he tried to get me to debunk the sounds. I walked around the bedroom while he sat outside & nope - that wasn't what he heard. So then we went upstairs & I walked around up there. Nope - definitely a man's footstep (nice to know my footsteps are "dainty") and closeby... Soooo - that was Popeye's experience.

My experience happened in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. I heard a loud bang - like the closet door banging shut - & sat up in bed. After I went back to sleep I felt a tingling sensation directly in the middle of my back. It kinda felt like when your hand falls asleep - but it was as if it had pressure, too. It was weird. It didn't freak me out, I just took it in. But I also am a vivid dreamer - so who knows! :)

The next morning we checked out and went on our ghost tour. It was very interesting. We toured the whole hotel - including the infamous room 217. We tried to get into room 402 but it was occupied. (Darn tourists having to stay in haunted rooms...) We went into the formal dining room - which has since been converted from formal dining room to theater by Stephen King in his most recent remake of "The Shining" back in 1995 or 1999 - something like that. I took loads of pictures in each room - but in that room there is DEFINITELY an orb (not dust like "orbs" usually are). I'll post that pic below. And then we went into the pusic room where it is big & white & beautiful with a beautiful piano sitting in there. One of the couples touring with us told us that they saw & heard a man playing that piano the night before. Our guide checked with the front desk & no one had played it - I guess they keep a log or something of who's playing what pianos & when... Anyway - COOL! I wish that had happened to US! We ended our tour in the tunnel beneath the hotel. There are little caves along the tunnel for workers to go and see how the hotel is resting on the foundation. Popeye took my camera & switched it to movie mode & took it into a little cave. He filmed for a few minutes & then on his way out we got a distinct "EVP" (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). Seriously, we did. And we can't explain it because it's right next to the microphone & you can hear me talking in the background - still a distance away & there are no other tourists around... Unfortunately, I don't know how to edit my movie to just play the EVP without the rest of the babble/rustling - so you all will have to just trust me on this. Unless you can walk me through it - and then I'll try to post it!

So that was our trip. We shopped in downtown Estes Park, stopped in Boulder & made our way back to Littleton to get our kids from my mom. It was a wonderful trip. I had been working really hard on losing some weight for this trip so that I could wear a certain pair of slacks that have always been too tight. And now they fit perfectly.

Enjoy the pics!!



Notice the orb in the upper lefthand corner? Clearly not dust.



Me & Popeye in front of the hotel.



Popeye in front of the waterfall out in the courtyard behind the hotel.



Me in the pants that I was talking about.



The view coming into Estes Park from HWY 36. Gorgeous!

That's all I'll bore you with. The rest are staircases, rooms, and really just weird shots trying to capture ghosts on film!

We're going back in July - hopefully - and we're taking the kids!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So today's my birthday. I'm 30. I feel old. But I'm looking really good, so I'm told.
Popeye took me to The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO for an overnight stay. It was SOOOOOO worth the $140 we spent on the room! Look for pictures from our ghost hunt in the next few days.
As for me right now, I'm going to go unpack & get into some nice, warm, jammies! No cake for me, but I've got some chocolate hiding!
(Humming - happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me-ee, happy birthday to me.)